Forgotten
by XoStarcicleoX
Summary: Naruto and Hinata are finally together, but Hinata's memories are erased. Now Naruto is having a hard time trying to make her remember who she is much less get her to fall in love with him again! Sequel to Gone but anyone can read it.
1. Prologue

**It's been EXACTLY a year! I planned it like that...  
Well, if you want to know what's going on, just check out the last chapter of _Gone.  
_I'm trying not to make such a long author's note, but since this is the 1st chap, this is an exception.  
If you're a new reader and have never even heard of _Gone,_ then don't fret.  
This sequel is a completely different story from there.  
It won't connect to the other story that much...I think  
EXCEPT FOR GLOO! If you're a new reader or have forgotten about him, he will be the first thing I explain :)  
So, um, there's nothing much else to say but this:  
Disclaimer: I suck at drawing and I'm a girl so obviously I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Prologue

5:30a.m.

Gloo was like a dog.

He was actually a large black blob of goo, but if a Hyuga would use his/her Byakugan, he/she would see he's also a big blob of chakra. He smelled like gasoline but he can stick like a magnet to anything and won't be removed unless he decided to stop. When Neji first encountered him, he was flat on the ground, attached to his feet, making sure the Hyuga will stay put. Another part of him surrounded his arms, pinning them to his body. However, when he saw that the young man was reaching down to him with his hand covered in the same substance he had inside, he knew that would burn and cut him. He avoided them just in time and then sprang off the young man before he could do any more. Finally connected with his other part, he morphed into his real self: a black, slug-like thing. **(A/N: If anybody out there watches Ben 10, think of Upgrade, but he most resembles Ship.)**

Ever since then, he's been connected to this young Hyuga, even if he tried to hurt him when they first met. When he left, the blob followed. He had to keep his distance, though, since he knew his new master (for that's what he thought of him now) didn't like him. It was not until the day after they met that he was named: Gloo. A boy with red fangs on his cheeks and a large, white scary monster was the one who named him. It was a combination of goo and glue, for he was both.

As the days passed, he and his new master got closer and closer. He also got closer to his master's friends. All of them were friendly; he especially liked the one who was most like his master: a young woman with hair as long as Neji's (he learned his master's name) and has the same eyes. She was always friendly to him; she would always smile at him and pet him gently. He liked it very much when she scratched him at his favorite spot. He made sure he didn't accidentally get her stuck to him.

So yes, Gloo acted like a dog, but he absolutely does not look like one.

Gloo was dozing peacefully by Neji's bed when his master woke up. Neji looked sleepily at his clock and sighed. Lord Hiashi was off on a clan meeting and he appointed Neji as temporary head during his absence. Neji was thrilled and scared at the same time. Thrilled because this was the first time a member from a branch family was ever appointed head, even if it was temporary; scared because he didn't know what the head of the clan does.

Hiashi gave him a quick rundown of how it worked, but he still had questions.

"If you need help, just ask Hinata or Hanabi. As one of them will be heir, they've been taught of how to properly lead the clan," Hiashi said.

"If they will be heir, then why choose me? Shouldn't you let Lady Hinata be temporary headmistress?" Neji asked.

Hiashi smiled. "I have plans for you, too, Neji. And Hinata..." The Hyuga shook his head. "Lately, she's been forgetting a lot of things. She even forgot her own name once!"

Neji frowned. "Yes, I've noticed that. She _has_ been acting strange."

"So, I'm putting you in charge until I feel she's ready for the job."

Neji was really nervous, but he tried not to show it. "Yes, sir."

Neji bowed and they separated.

Today was his second day of leadership.

He got off his bed, careful not to step on Gloo. He grabbed his robes and headed to the bathroom.

It was really early in the morning; it was maybe around 5am. It was sort of dark, like the sun, too, was too sleepy to get up. However, as temporary headmaster, he was to get up early and make sure the Hyuga clan would follow schedules.

* * *

7:05a.m.

Kiba, with his dog Akamaru, walked to the Hokage tower just like every morning for the past six days.

Yes, it's been six days since Hinata's return to the Leaf, and six days since Kiba showed the mysterious flower that was embedded on Hinata's forest clothes. **(A/N: Haha, new readers ignore that.)**

Kiba visited Tsunade every morning to see how the examinations were progressing. Every morning they would tell him what's new. Every time it was something bad.

Nobody told Hinata about the flowers. He told Shino about them, though, but it was pointless since he already knew (his bugs noticed a weird scent). And Hinata had just returned to her family, so telling her upsetting news now would stress her and her family. Besides, it hasn't been confirmed yet about what the flowers do.

But today was different.

When Kiba opened the door, he didn't even get to say "Good morning" before Tsunade said, "Kiba, I'm glad you're here. Quickly, get your teammates and bring them here. I have an important mission for you three."

Tsunade hadn't had a good night sleep since the flower experimentation. She had bags under her eyes and was crankier than usual. So when she demanded for Team Kureani, Kiba nodded silently and ran off.

* * *

7:15a.m.

There was a knock at the Hyuga Compound door. Neji, who was coincidentally closest to the door, went to open it.

"Yes?" he said when he opened it. His face suddenly scowled when he saw who it was.

"Hey, Neji! Hinata awake yet?" asked the person at the door.

Neji hesitated for just a millisecond before answering. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but no. She hasn't awoken yet. Now I suggest you do something else in her absence instead of whine," he quickly added when Naruto opened his mouth to complain. Ever since the blond ninja found out the Hyugas wake up early in the morning he's been coming at around 7 to pick up Hinata to do whatever.

Naruto stayed where he was, arms folded across his chest and glaring at the Hyuga. "Are you sure?"

Naruto and Neji hadn't been on good terms since he and Hinata started dating. Their relationship might have been okay with Hiashi but Neji knew Naruto better than he and disapproved of it. He was worried on what he might do to Hinata, so he's been keeping a close eye on them. Until Naruto can prove that he really did love Hinata and will never hurt her, his Byakugan will always be on the lookout.

Neji sighed. "If you must know she was called just a little while ago by Kiba. It seems she and her team have a mission-"

Before Neji could finish Naruto dashed off to the Hokage tower.

The Hyuga's eyebrow twitched with frustration. This wasn't the greatest way to start a morning but it's been like that for six days.

* * *

7:15 (and 59 seconds) a.m.

Naruto was just about to slam open the door when the door swung open. It took all the muscles in his right arm to stop his fist from crashing down on the poor, delicate forehead of Hinata Hyuga. The blond shinobi was staring open-mouthed at the girl in front of him while the latter was staring wide-eyed at the fist inches from her nose. Her teammates (except Shino), Tsunade, and Shizune all had similar expressions.

Finally, after swallowing audibly, Hinata looked at the boy and spoke. "Um . . . hello?"

And that was when Tsunade decided to explode. "NARUTO UZUMAKI, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Naruto and the rest of the gang winced at the volume of her voice so early in the morning. Still, you couldn't blame her.

Except Naruto. "Grandma, you don't have to yell so loud!"

A visible tick was throbbing on her forehead and Shizune tried to calm her down.

Ignoring them Naruto faced Hinata. "Hey, Hinata! Do you have a mission or something?"

Hinata stared at the man in front of him. " . . . . . . . . . Um, do I know you?" she asked.

Naruto blanched. What?

"Ha! Very funny, Hinata!" Kiba said, smiling and patting her back. "Now, Naruto, if you could just move we'll be on our way." Without waiting for an answer he pushed Naruto aside using Hinata with Shino close behind.

"Ah, wait!" Naruto cried, but Shizune had caught his shoulder.

"Naruto, Lady Tsunade would like to talk to you."

On any other occasion, sure, he would gladly talk to her. But his girlfriend was just about to leave on a mission and might not be coming back for weeks. He shrugged her hand off, muttered "Later" and ran to catch up with Team Kurenai.

* * *

It was a cloudy day in Konoha. It wasn't going to rain, but the village still looked depressing for some reason.

"It doesn't have a rank?" Naruto asked, confused.

"No, now can we please go? We're kind of wasting time," Kiba said.

Naruto finally caught up with them at the gate (they sure move fast). He asked how long the mission would take and they replied that they didn't know, so he asked about the rank to see if he can estimate how long they'd be gone. That was useless, too. Naruto looked at the three chunins in front of him. Ignoring two of them he walked over to the third one standing in the back.

He took one of her hands. "Okay. Make it quick, then, okay, Hinata? I want you to come back as soon as possible." He smiled his Naruto-grin at her.

It was such an amazing and familiar grin that she had to smile, too. But who was this man holding her hand? Uh-oh, what is he doing now? He's leaning down! For what? He was so close to her now, so very close. Just on instinct, her eyelids fluttered close. She felt his lips, soft and warm like the perfect afternoon. She couldn't kiss back because, well, she didn't know this guy.

Naruto straightened up after a few seconds. He was frowning because he was confused. He's kissed Hinata a million times (in six days) but today was the weirdest. Normally, her kisses would be gentle and caring but today it was just . . . plain.

Kiba and Shino watched the whole scene and both understood it. They knew what their mission was. If they could just leave now, the process would be a lot quicker. But still, it would take a long time. They would miss her all that time.

"Hey, hey, c'mon Naruto. We really need to go now," Kiba said, breaking the two apart. None of them had said a single word. _He finally sensed something was wrong, huh?_Kiba thought.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Naruto stammered. He let Hinata's hand go. When they dropped to her side she looked down shyly, as if ashamed.

Kiba watched sadly. He wasn't a big fan of a goofball dating one of his best friends, but seeing them be separated like this was a sad time. However, he couldn't just say "This is the last time you're seeing each other so you better do what you want!"

Shino cleared his throat. Kiba found he was distracting himself. Akamaru whined at his master's zoned-out face.

With a quick shake of his head, Kiba took hold of Hinata's arm and slowly dragged her to the gates.

Hinata waved good-bye to the man who kissed her. Naruto waved back, a smile graced on his lips. He watched them go until they were out of sight.

* * *

Tsunade was going to tell Naruto about the mission. Well, the right term would be that she was going to _lie_to Naruto about the mission.

She discovered what the flowers did this morning and she sent a message right away. She deviced a mission for Hinata and it was a very important mission. And a very long one, too.

If Naruto knew the truth, he would have complained to no end.

12:40p.m.

Naruto wiped the soup around his mouth using his sleeve. He just finished his lunch at Ichiraku's, but it was lonlier than usual without Hinata. The sun shone a little more that afternoon.

"Thanks, Old Man," Naruto cried after he belched. Then he heard footsteps behind him. He immediately knew whose footsteps it belonged to because there was the patter of an additional four.

Quickly leaving money on the counter he exited the ramen shop. There, headed towards the Hokage tower were Team Kurenai . . . minus one. Naruto felt his heart sink to his feet. He ran to them and grabbed the back of Kiba's collar, turning him around.

"Hinata?" he asked, breathless despite the short run. That one word was enought of a question.

Kiba looked up sadly at his friend. "Naruto. I'm sorry," he croaked. His voice was gruff and full of grief.

Nevertheless it didn't compete with the huge hole that created itself in Naruto's heart. It ripped open, screaming in pain and agony as his head processed the information. "Is she . . . ?" Naruto tried to ask.

Kiba looked away. "Dead."

* * *

The two men and one dog entered the Hokage office.

Tsunade faced away from her window to look at them.

"How was it?"

"If you're asking if it was a success, yes," Shino answered. "How was it?" He shrugged.

"I see. Did you run into Naruto on your way back?"

"Yes."

"What did you tell him?"

Kiba cleared his throat. "We didn't give any information away," he said.

"I asked what did you tell him?" Tsunade repeated.

Kiba swallowed. "That she died."

Tsunade stared at them before slowly nodding. "Where is he now?"

Kiba didn't answer so Shino answered for them both. "Who knows."

* * *

**Sorry it took such a long time!  
I was hoping I would improve from that story to this.  
Hopefully, I did! Tell me if something didn't make sense or if I need to change something!  
Please review, everyone!**


	2. During the Month

**Eh heh heh, let's just skip the excuses, shall we?  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

_One month later . . ._

The wind blew through the trees, taking its forest scent with it as it continued its journey through the training ground. The said place was occupied by three wooden poles, and sitting in the middle pole, who used to be tied to it just three years ago, was a blond ninja.

Naruto was too big to sit on the pole, but he didn't want to sit on the ground, leaning on it. He wanted the wind coming from all sides. Every time the wind blew, it did remind him of some not-so-long-ago enemies, but that memory was the last thing on his mind, along with everything else.

He stared at the object in his hand. It was a container: the jar of healing ointment that Hinata gave him in what seemed like a million years ago. It had been empty for a long time—he used it for every cut—but he still kept it. It was Hinata's first gift after all.

Hinata.

Hinata, Hinata, Hinata. That's all he ever thought about. Every waking moment, following him up to his dreams. He could not stop thinking about her ever since she—

No. He couldn't bring himself to say it, couldn't bring himself to _think_ it.

Naruto shut his eyes quickly before the tears, who he thought were long gone but knew better, would sting. After all that crying, he was surprised his tear ducts still worked properly. Once again, for probably the thousandth time that month, he muttered, "I can't believe it. I _can't_ believe it."

To keep his mind off it, he started to reminisce about what happened that month, that long, painful month.

* * *

**(1)**

It was the day after Hinata disappeared, and Naruto was busy in his house. He was just finishing when there was a knock at his door.

Naruto ignored it, continuing with his packing, hoping that whoever it was would just leave.

After a couple of minutes, the knocking came again. Naruto let out a sigh. He was done packing anyway. He heaved his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door. He opened it.

"Naruto! You _are_ here!" Sakura sighed in relief. "I wouldn't know where else to look if you weren't . . . " Her voice trailed off as she stared at her friend.

Obviously, he hadn't slept a wink last night. He had bags under his puffy red eyes and his hair was messier than usual. His clothes were disheveled and didn't smell at all fresh. His face was still as stone, as if all emotions left his body after Hinata's death.

_He's been crying last night,_ Sakura figured. _And by the look of his face it looks like he's cried it all out . . . I think._

She noticed the backpack over his shoulder. "Are you . . . going somewhere?" she asked cautiously, afraid of the answer.

"Yes" was all he said before he pushed past her, bumping shoulders.

Sakura stood frozen for a second, trying to see where this was going, before she frantically hurried to catch up to her teammate. "Wait! Naruto! _Where_ are you going? What are you going to do?" Sakura ran down the stairs of the apartment after Naruto. She was about to put her hand on Naruto's shoulder to try to stop him when he suddenly turned his head, anger in his eyes.

"I'm _going_ to find Hinata!" he answered, ignoring the first question.

"You're _what?_" Sakura cried in disbelief. She hurried to catch up with Naruto again as he left. "Naruto, I heard from Lady Tsunade what happened to Hinata yesterday, and I'm really sorry. But do you really think you'll be able to _find_ her? Out there in the woods?" Her voice was loud and about two pitches higher. She was scared. Scared for one of her closest friends. Scared that she'd lose another one.

Naruto stopped at the last step. His fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles looked white enough to be a skeleton's. When he spoke he sounded on the verge of tears. "Hinata is not dead!" he shouted. "She couldn't be! She's too strong for that! She doesn't give up that easily!" He paused and took a long shaky breath. In a normal voice, he continued, "I'm going out there and I'm not coming back either until I find her or proof that she's . . . gone."

Again, Sakura stood there in shock while Naruto set a determined pace towards the gate. Her mind was whirring. Tsunade told Sakura about what happened with Hinata, and also the excuse that Kiba and Shino used for Naruto and Naruto only. Everybody else would know the truth but him, because if he did he wouldn't accept it. So if Naruto went out now . . .

_I have to get Lady Tsunade!_

A-N-D-S-O

There it was: the Konoha gates. He was almost there. He was almost about to start his expedition for Hinata. _Because Hinata _can't_ be dead._

Just a few more steps. He could see the current Konoha guards at the shelter next to the gates. They were looking at him curiously, but he ignored them.

Five more steps.

"Naruto!"

Naruto froze at the fourth step. The guards stared at the blond shinobi before looking behind him to see who it was who called his name. When they saw who, they stood at attention.

Tsunade paid them no mind as she, Sakura, and Kiba, who had been informed as well, strode to their knucklehead ninja. "What do you think you're doing?" Tsunade asked, her voice sharp as steel.

Naruto didn't answer, so she continued, "You _know_ leaving the village without permission is against the rules! It could strip you of your status as a Leaf shinobi! Then you'd be rouge—"

"I don't care."

Tsunade's breath caught in her throat the moment Naruto said those words. She thought the day would never come when Naruto _would not care_ about being a ninja.

"Sakura probably told you what I'm going to do," he said. Sakura blushed at being caught. He wasn't facing them, but by the way his head tilted down, they knew he was looking at the ground. Now he looked up. "If that's all you're going to say, then I'll be going." He resumed his steps again, but slower.

"Nar—" Sakura reached for him, but she was stopped by Tsunade. She looked at her master in disbelief, but she was still staring at Naruto's back. Akamaru whined at the tension, and Kiba patted his head. He was curious as to how this was working out.

"So that's it," Tsunade said. She wasn't shouting anymore, but Naruto, who stopped again, could hear her. "You're just going to give up being a shinobi, just so you could look for one girl."

Naruto's hands clenched. "She's not just 'one girl' and you know that."

Tsunade did know. Hinata was one of her more trustworthy ninjas, but in order to try to stop him, she had to somehow convince him to quit.

"Why are you crying over this girl, Naruto? You were on the verge with Gaara, and Sasuke. When you hurt Sakura when you were in four tails that time, I _know_ you didn't cry. You were incredibly sad, but you didn't cry **(2)**. So why are you crying _now_, over Hinata?"

It took several seconds before Naruto answered. "Because none of those people are dead, are they? They're alive and well, still breathing and able to move. They can touch and feel and-and-" Naruto was crying again. Why? He thought he finished last night! Angrily, Naruto turned around.

"They're all alive! And what's Hinata doing out there? If she _is_ dead, she's probably kissing ground! She's decaying, she's still, not moving, not breathing. You didn't even bring back her body, Kiba! We could have held a funeral and a proper burial, but no!"

Naruto furiously walked to Kiba, standing right in his face. He glared at him through a blurred, teary vision. "You probably didn't care about Hinata, did you? Or you were jealous! Yeah, I've heard the rumors, Kiba. You were jealous that Hinata and I were dating. You're the one who killed her, too right? You were angry at her for dating me instead of you, so you killed her! Then you somehow convinced Shino that enemies killed her and Shino was tricked into your trap and then you pretended to be sad so you wouldn't be suspicious and you hid her body so it could never be found, because nin-dogs would be able to smell her scent and find your scent that will lead to you, and you couldn't have that, could you Kib—ah!"

The wind fled from Naruto's mouth as Tsunade punched him in the stomach. His eyes rolled back as he fell forward, unconscious. Kiba caught him.

"Take him to the hospital, Sakura. Make sure he _stays_ there. If he doesn't behave, call me and I'll send some ANBU," Tsunade ordered. She turned around, her coat flying after her. Kiba carefully set Naruto on his stomach on Akamaru's back. He instructed his dog to follow Sakura to the hospital and then he himself hurried to catch up to the Hokage **(3)**.

"Lady Tsunade, what do we do now? Telling Naruto that Hinata died kind of backfired. Should we tell him the truth?" On normal circumstances, Kiba would have argued with Naruto, but he was just filled with so much sympathy for his pal, that he didn't have the heart. If he heard that his girlfriend (when he gets one) died, he would have gone crazy with grief, too.

Tsunade shook her head. "It's true that it backfired, but we still can't tell him the truth. If we did, then he'd try _nonstop_ to get her back. Telling him she died would make him give up hope someday."

Kiba nodded, but he still felt sorry for Naruto. After their conversation, he walked in the direction of the hospital to get Akamaru, and check on the blond.

* * *

Naruto remembered that while he was in the hospital, he had a dream. He dreamed that when he left, all his friends and all the people he cared about cried over him. They missed him like crazy, and it broke his heart at how sad they all looked.

He also dreamed that he found Hinata's body between some bushes. Her jacket was full of holes and moldy, and her pants were in the same condition. Hinata herself was in the state of decay. Her flesh was rotting, especially at her face, where her cheek rotted so he could see her teeth. Her skin was not a beautiful fairness anymore, but deathly gray and wrinkled. Her hair had already thinned so you could see her skull, and flies were all over her body.

Naruto was so horrified at the scene he thought he was going to vomit. When he woke up from his nightmare, he already decided that he would stay. He concluded that if he ever _did_ find Hinata's dead body, he wouldn't be able to handle it anyway.

He remembered he awoke to his friends surrounding his bed. They were all sorry about the news and came to comfort him as well as persuade him to not go out to look for Hinata.

He smiled sadly at their efforts and told them that he wouldn't. He was glad he had them. He apologized to Kiba profusely about what he said earlier that day, that he didn't mean it, but it didn't seem like he was holding any grudges. He accepted his apologies easily.

Later, they were all leaving. Naruto wanted to stay at the hospital, not wanting to go back to his lonely apartment. He explained to Sakura that he wanted people around him—even nurses would do—and so Sakura accepted. She figured Naruto needed the time to recover.

That night Naruto looked out his hospital window at the moon. The moon reminded him of Hinata, with its beautiful brightness, shining off the sun, which was him. He smiled sadly again as he thought about the moon and sun. Hinata had told him that she was always watching him and using him as inspiration to never give up. He scoffed it off, telling her she was already amazing, even without him. But without him, she said, she would never have shone as brightly as she was then. So without the sun, the moon would never shine as brightly as it was now.

But what would happen if the moon disappeared?

The night would be plunged into darkness.

Naruto's grin slowly disappeared as he came to that conclusion. Before he went to sleep, he murmured, "She's gone from me again. Kidnapped once again, right under my nose, but this time I can't get her back. She's gone. I can't believe it."

* * *

The wind blew again and Naruto opened his eyes. Thankfully, they were dry. He looked at the healing ointment again and then pocketed it. He then quickly got off the stump he'd been sitting on.

"Ow, now I have a butt cramp," he muttered. He massaged his bottom. When he was satisfied, he put his hands in his pocket and walked in the direction of Ichiraku's.

* * *

A woman walked in the gates of Konoha. Her feet ached, but she felt that her expedition was over. This caused her to sigh in relief.

The two male guards by the gate caught sight of her. She was looking around at the tall buildings, seemingly admiring them. She was also a mess, with leaves in her long messy hair and mud and dirt covering her body.

"Oi!" one of the guards called. The woman snapped her head towards their direction, surprised to be called. The two guards approached her. She got nervous.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the other asked.

The woman looked down at her fidgeting feet, hands behind her back. "I-I don't know," she answered in a soft voice.

The guards raised eyebrows at each other. "You don't know what you're doing here?" The woman shook her head, still not looking at them. "Okay, then can you tell us your name at least?"

The woman bit the bottom of her lip, though the guards didn't see since her hair covered her face. "I-I don't know either."

Now the guards had confused looks. "So you don't know your name _or_ what you're doing here?" The lady shook her head again.

One guard scratched his chin. He then turned his back to the woman and the other guard did the same. He talked quietly and privately to his partner, "Maybe we should get her to the Hokage. She'll figure out what to do."

"Are you stupid?" the partner hissed. "What if she's an enemy from an enemy village _pretending_ to not know anything? She probably wants us to _think_ she's a lost girl so we think she's innocent. If we take her to the Hokage, that'll be just what she wants. Who knows what she'll do when she gets a hold of her!"

The other guard furrowed his brows as he thought this over. "Gee, yeah, I didn't think of that." He crossed his arms to think of a solution, and when he did he snapped his fingers.

"Okay, so how about I go to the Hokage and describe this girl and her situation while you stay here and guard her. That way, she'll still figure things out but also be out of the risk," he said.

His partner held a thumb up. "Now _that's_ a good plan." They both turned around again. The woman was examining the village with curious eyes again. She looked like the most innocent thing in the world, but in a world of ninjas, you can't be too careful.

One of the guards explained to the lady what will happen, that she'd stay right there while he went to their leader so she could think of what to do. The guards were prepared for her to say, "Can I come with you?" If she said that, then she was surely an enemy.

But the woman just nodded. The guard who thought of the plan jumped onto the roofs and turned to the direction of the Hokage tower.

The guard who stayed with the woman studied his new companion. She was petite, and if you wiped away all that grime, he was sure she'd be pretty. He was curious about her eyes the most, though. They were familiar. Where had he seen it? He then remembered.

Meanwhile, Kiba was walking Akamaru. Their path was around the whole village, and they were coming up the gates. He was whistling happily, too, with his eyes closed. That's when he caught a familiar scent. Akamaru barked, also catching it. He looked at the two people in front of the gates in astonishment just when the guard pointed at the woman and asked, "Hey, aren't you a Hyuga?"

* * *

The guard reached the tower and greeted the other guards.

He walked quickly up the steps and down the hall. He knocked on the door and entered when he was allowed to.

The Hokage was signing papers, as usual. Her assistant wasn't around. She didn't look up when she asked what it was he wanted.

The guard gulped. She didn't sound like she was in a good mood. Maybe when he tells her about the woman, she'll consider it an insignificant matter and a waste of her time. Furthermore, she'll probably claim that they're just paranoid and not fit to be ninjas. Maybe he should just say never mind and leave.

Tsunade cleared her throat when she still didn't hear him speak. The sudden sound startled him. He was suddenly sure that she wouldn't do any of those things. She'd understand their cautiousness.

"W-well, Lady Hokage," he started and he told her about the woman arriving at the gates. He described all that he could remember about her like her hair and clothes. He also stated that she seemed to not know her name or the reason for her arrival. He noted that while he was describing, the pen in the Hokage's hand stopped scribbling and instead just hovered over the paper.

He was still talking when she slowly looked up at him with a face of disbelief. She seemed to be interested in every word that he said. Inside, he was proud of himself for delivering news that even the Hokage was gaping at him for.

When he finished, Tsunade suddenly stood up, her chair rolling back and hitting the wall. "I want that woman in my office this instant! And DO NOT let Naruto Uzumaki see her!" she ordered.

The surprised guard backed up, mumbled "Yes ma'am," and proceeded to open the door. Before he could reach the knob, though, the door swung open. At the entrance were a sweaty Kiba and a panting Akamaru.

"Lady Tsunade!" Kiba cried. "Hinata's here!"

* * *

**From now on, unless otherwise noted, if you see this [(number)] then that means I have a comment for it at the bottom. Doing it in the main story just sorta messes it up -_-**

**(1) Even though it's Naruto that's reminiscing, the flashback is from everyone's point of vew. Otherwise, you and I would be waiting in unnecessary anticipation as to what is going on.**

**(2) I haven't read the whole Naruto Part 2 manga, but I have heard about Naruto's four-tailed going berserk and hurting Sakura. I know Yamato sealed him, but I don't know what happens after that. I don't think he cried over that (and I'm too lazy to check) so if he did, please tell me and I'll change it. If there are other mistakes concerning the Naruto storyline that I've made, please tell me that, too, so I can fix it. Like Naruto's apartment: it _is_ on the top, right? So there are stairs?**

**(3) I don't think Kiba has ever separated with his dog, but I needed Kiba and Tsunade to talk, and for some reason, to me, I felt like Sakura shouldn't be there.**

**So, another cliffhanger in dialogue . . . Not my favorite type of cliffhanger, but it couldn't be helped ^ ^'  
Sorry for the ultra-long delay!  
Please review  
Hey, hey; have I gotten better in writing?**


	3. Back From the Dead

**Shorter than the last; oh well.  
I keep changing the summary because I don't know what to put. I think I have the right summary now, though.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Naruto finished his third bowl of ramen. He would have eaten some more, but he just didn't feel like it. Teuchi was extremely worried about his favorite customer. His appetite hasn't been the same for a month now.

Naruto put down his bowl and burped loudly. "Thanks, old man!" he said. "Great meal, as always." He set the change on the counter and got up to leave. He was already lifting the curtains when three swift shadows darted past him into the direction of what looked like the gates. Naruto's curiosity lifted and then spiked when he saw Kiba and Akamaru as two of the figures. He jumped on the roof with them.

"Hey, Kiba, what's going on?" he asked.

"Naruto!" Kiba faced Naruto as he and Akamaru stopped, allowing the other figure to continue. When the ninja looked back and saw the blond that they were ordered to avoid, he quickened his pace.

"Naruto, you surprised me! Where did you come from?" Kiba questioned, frowning.

"Well, I was just in Ichiraku's when I saw you in a big hurry so I thought I'd find out why," Naruto explained. Mentally, he added bitterly, _It's not like I have anything better to do._ He noted that Kiba, who had an incredible sense of smell, was not able to sense his presence. He must have been really focused on something.

"See, I have to get something for the Hokage, and it's _really_ important, so I gotta go!" Kiba was ready to dash away, but Naruto was not done.

"So you need a cloak to get this thing, or what?" he interrogated, eyeing the brown hooded cloak that they sometimes used for missions.

Kiba cursed. He had noticed. Quickly, he devised an excuse. "Uh, just in case it gets cold. Yeah! And, uh, to hide it from enemy sights! Now, I really have to go, Naruto." He prepared to leave once more but he turned around. "And DO NOT follow us, Naruto, got that? Stay out of our way! Go eat ramen or something!" This time Kiba and Akamaru left.

Naruto stood there on the roof. Not _follow him, he says? Kiba, that's precisely what you _don't _say to stop a pursuer._ Naruto also headed for the gates.

* * *

Kiba arrived at the destination. The one guard was already there, and both guards were keeping a lookout on who else might see the woman.

Kiba approached her. She was watching him get closer, growing nervous with each step. She glanced at the huge beast walking by his side, and she grew more frightened.

No, she's not recovered, but just to make sure . . . "Hinata? Hinata, it's me, Kiba. Do you remember me?"

The scared girl stared at him. "Wh-who's . . . Hinata?"

Kiba's hope, despite having tried not to raise it, crashed down. "Oh, okay." He stared sadly at his friend. She'd been like a little sister to her; heck almost all of their friends considered her a sister in their family of friends. Only Naruto didn't . . .

Now here she was: memories erased but the same innocence remained. With her memories gone, would she have the same personality, he wondered. Akamaru whined, sensing his master's sadness. That caused Kiba to snap out of his reverie. He cleared his throat. "Well, miss, we'll take you to our hokage. Please put this cloak on," directed Kiba, and he handed it to the teen. "Don't take it off, not until we tell you to, understand?"

Hinata nodded and wrapped the cloak around herself. Kiba put the hood up. "Follow us."

Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, and the two guards dashed to the hokage tower.

* * *

Naruto couldn't see anything. Those two stupid guards were in the way. There was someone behind them, but who? He caught a glimpse of a fair-skinned hand, and he can see the person's feet, but what good did that do?

He was hiding behind a wall between two buildings. He was also transformed into a random person, so they wouldn't catch him, but just in case, he still hid. Again, he was amazed that Kiba and Akamaru were too focused on their task to catch his scent. Amazed, and at the same time, thankful.

Frustrated, he tried to see past the guards. Boy, what he would trade to have the Byakugan.

He saw Kiba hand the brown cloak to the person in front of him. The person put it on and Kiba put the hood up.

Naruto was curious; why would Kiba have to do that? Who is this special person that needed to be hidden from everyone?

They were on the move. From their general direction, he guessed they were going to the tower.

He followed them again.

* * *

"Come in," Tsunade ordered after she heard the knocks.

Kiba and his company came in. "Lady Tsunade, we brought her."

Tsunade was standing behind her desk, looking out the window. She was watching their progress up to her tower. Them, and the person tailing them.

"Yes, I saw," Tsunade murmured, "but did you make sure you weren't followed?"

Kiba paled.

Tsunade knew where that ninja went. He'd done it before, and he only does it when he really wants in on something.

Suddenly, Tsunade turned around, glaring at the ceiling. "Don't think I'll fall for that trick again!" she cried and threw a kunai between two ceiling tiles. One of the ceiling tiles broke and fell down, sending the spy down with it.

A whiskered face met with the floor of the hokage office.

Everyone's eyes, except Tsunade's, bulged.

"Naruto!" Kiba shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Why can't I?" Naruto retorted. He stood up, pointing an accusing finger at the hooded figure, who was clutching the neck of the cloak tightly. "Who is this mysterious person anyway?"

"The more important question," Tsunade interrupted, a tick throbbing on her forehead, "is what you think you're doing trying to sneak into my office!"

Naruto winced, remembering who he had infuriated. His head slowly and shakily turned around.

He thought he saw the she-devil herself—fire and all.

He gulped as sweat broke out all over his body.

"N-n-n-now wait a minute, Grandma Tsunade!" Naruto put up his hands near his chest and started to back away. The others behind him were too shocked to see what he was doing.

"NARUTOOOOOO!"

The blond yelped and jumped backwards, causing him to knock back the person behind him.

"Eep!" The person had landed on their butt and let go of the hood. It fell back.

Naruto looked behind him. "I'm so—" His words died on his lips, however.

Long midnight hair flowed down her back, covered in dirt and leaves. When the woman looked up at him, he looked past the grime, the smudges on her cheeks and forehead, or the scratches, because her eyes were untouched.

They were still the same eyes, the eyes he thought he would never see again.

They were the pearly white eyes of the Hyuga, except this one belonged to Hinata Hyuga, supposedly dead, one month ago.

B-R-E-A-K

The whole room quieted when they realized the situation.

Naruto forgot everything—the room, the people, and the time. It was just him and . . .

"Hinata." He breathed out her name. Recently, he only said it about a dead person, yet here was this same person, sitting before him.

"Hinata," he said again, tasting the life in its name again.

Hinata kept staring at him. "Why does everyone call me that?"

He didn't hear the words, though. He couldn't hear anything, not with the blood rushing in his head as his heart doubled in speed.

His heart.

He thought his heart would always have that hole that was caused by Hinata's "death." Now it's filled again.

Naruto breathed faster. "I can't believe it," he muttered. There were those words again, except they were for a different reason.

He had so many questions; combine it with his leaping joy, immense confusion, and ever-growing love, he had to burst.

"HINATA!" And he leaped down to the ground with her, sending his arms around her neck in a tight embrace.

"Waah!" Hinata squealed as the boy burrowed himself in her. He put his face in her hair and cried.

"You're alive! You're alive, alive, alive!" he kept shouting.

"I'm, wh-what?" Hinata was very confused.

There were hands on Naruto's shoulders, all of a sudden, trying to pry him off of Hinata.

Naruto struggled against them, trying to resist. He wanted to be with her longer—like, a _month_ longer.

Finally, the hands succeeded, but only because the blond wanted to see Hinata's face again. Now he noticed the dirt, and there was so much confusion in her eyes, but this was still the same Hinata. This was his girlfriend.

"You're alive," he murmured, clutching her face between his palms, a smile spread on his lips.

"I was never dead," Hinata said quietly, staring into the boy's tear-stained face. Who was he? He looked familiar, but from where?

Wait.

"Oh, you're the boy who kissed me!" she said.

"You remember that?" Kiba asked, pulling Naruto off. Naruto allowed himself to be dragged away. He was too happy to resist this time.

"Of course. I didn't know him, but you never forget your first kiss," Hinata explained. She accepted Kiba's hand in helping her up. Naruto stood up, too; he was still breathing hard.

"Yeah, I kiss . . . wait, first kiss?" Naruto was still dizzy with happiness, but his head started to clear. "You thought that was our first kiss? That was just a . . . goodbye kiss." Naruto's face slowly frowned into confusion.

Kiba looked at Naruto sympathetically, the same look he gave the couple a month ago. "Naruto . . . "

"Hinata's memories are gone, Naruto," Tsunade stated from behind all of them.

It took a while for the words to process through his head. "They're . . . they're _gone_? What do you mean GONE? What's happened to Hinata?"

"Don't raise your voice at me, young man!" Tsunade sighed. She was trying not to get too angry; after all, Naruto's love just came back from the dead. "It's just . . . Hinata's memories have been vanishing last month, after the mission when you rescued her. I sent her to . . . someone . . . to cure her. She wasn't supposed to be back for another five months."

Naruto looked at Tsunade as if she had betrayed him, which she probably did in his view. "When were you planning to tell me?"

The Hokage kept her head up, but she didn't look in the other ninja's eyes. "When she would come back."

Naruto's face showed fury now. The whole room was quiet, letting the two blonds talk. "So you thought it would be better to tell me she _died_ than telling me the truth?"

Tsunade bent her head. "You wouldn't have let her go if we did."

". . . What . . . what do you mean? Of course I'd let Hinata go if something as serious as _memory erasing _was threatening her! I'd let the person cure her! Why wouldn't I?"

This was the explanation Tsunade was dreading. "Because . . . the person I sent her to is . . . a pupil. He's a pupil of Orochimaru."

Naruto felt his stomach churn. "Of . . . Orochimaru?"

"Yes. He studied under Orochimaru, and in turn developed similar methods when it comes to studying a body. The difference is that Orochimaru experimented on the body, while this underling experimented on the human brain. He knows everything about the mind, arguably even better than the Yamanakas. If anyone could restore memories, it would have been him."

The blue-eyed ninja absorbed all of this.

"You . . . you sent Hinata . . . to someone who could have experimented on her brain?" he asked quietly.

"Actually, he separated from Orochimaru. The man didn't acknowledge his talents, so after he finished his apprenticeship, he went to live in his own little shack out in the forest, about two days' walk from here. His lab runs underground. I questioned him once when I was looking for Orochimaru's current whereabouts at the time. He's not as bad as his master. He was curious about the mind; that's the reason he went to Orochimaru, but he never went there seeking immortality, or power, unlike others. In return for keeping his hideout hidden and his illegal research a secret, I could come to him if I had any problems or questions about human brains. So I sent Hinata to him."

Naruto absorbed this again. "I still don't see how I wouldn't let her go, even if he's a student of Orochimaru's."

Tsunade's lips tightened. "I told you: he developed similar methods of research from Orochimaru. He would have done . . . tests."

His eyes narrowed. "What kind of tests?"

The older woman turned her head away and answered quietly, "Like cutting open her head, maybe."

* * *

**The last part is kind of awkward.  
I just wanted the dialouge, really, but I have to explain what's going on around the room, too!  
Sometimes I wish this was a manga, or anime, so I can just focus on dialouge.  
But I'm a terrible drawer!  
Please review!**


	4. Two Blond Ninjas

**I thought Naruto Shippuden episode 192 would be my favorite Hyuga filler episode (Hiashi said "precious" daughter! XD). . .  
But episode 232 just knocked it right out the park! (We see Hinata training pre-time skip!)  
It's what I predicted-that Neji would lead the clan, not Hinata.  
It's a _guy's_ manga, after all, and I think this episode is like foreshadowing that in the end, Neji will be the heir.  
It makes sense, too, because by doing that the idea of a branch and main house would be completely destroyed!  
And I'm totally fine with Neji being leader! As long as Hinata is fine with it, too . . .  
****Plus, I also like the episode because the girls have a get-together!  
Disclaimer: Naruto and Naruto Shippuden belongs to Masashi Kishimoto  
Btw, was it just me or did Hinata's voice seem a little different (but it's the same actress)? Maybe it just sounds so much more confident that it's a new sound?**

* * *

The conversation wasn't so smooth. Naruto was immensely angry that Tsunade had sent Hinata off to . . . to . . . a murderer!

"He's not a murderer!" Tsunade argued. "He's a scientist."

"So you think he would cut open her head while she's still _alive_?" Naruto argued back.

Tsunade was about to argue again that Orochimaru had done successful experiments before—successful in terms of the patient alive, but not necessarily sane. Because of that, she ended up not saying anything at all.

Naruto tried his best not to explode. He was trying to keep his cool, for the sake of Hinata just right behind him, and for himself. He had every right to be angry at the old lady for sending Hinata to a pupil _of Orochimaru_, but he stayed calm, because the old lady _did_ say that he was surely going to be against the idea of curing Hinata that way, and he didn't want to prove her right.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "Why couldn't you just bring her to one of the Yamanaka's? Aren't they supposed to be masters of the mind?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? I said he is better than the Yamanaka's. Or, his methods—"

"His _methods_?"

"Let me finish! In order to bring Hinata's memories back, they would need to go into the brain, similar to when they try to search a brain for information. Since Hinata's mind would be empty due to memories lost, going inside her head would be a dangerous risk. Whoever it is could get lost in it, or worse, lose their memory as well."

"Why would that happen? How did Hinata lose her memories in the first place?"

And Tsunade explained about the flower—the flower that is so rare it doesn't even have a name, one reason being the rarity; while the other being whoever encountered it would just forget they ever encountered it anyway. Nevertheless one person remembered well enough to draw a picture of it in a journal. After careful studying, the research and development center recognized the flower through that drawing, and they discovered that the pollen in the flower, when breathed in, disrupted the cells in the brain, particularly the ones that worked to make a memory. **(1)**

While her brain was still able to function properly, her "memory files" were erased slowly. If not treated immediately, she could lose any recollection whatsoever.

Naruto asked how she got the flower in the first place. Kiba answered that one.

"It was sewn onto her shirt. I noticed it when we rescued her from that place. Fortunately I was able to smell it from a distance so I didn't get any pollen, but if Hinata wore that shirt, she would have breathed in most, if not all, that pollen. It looked like they meant for her to forget everything so it would be easier to subdue her."

Naruto knew what he meant: the place where Hinata's captors took her was a cave in the forest far from the Leaf (two days even with enhanced chakra). He noticed her different clothing, but he didn't say anything because he was too mad at the enemies. So it started that long ago? His head was still burning with rage, but he sighed to calm himself somewhat.

All that information and not a single one was for him.

"So now that Hinata's back, what are we supposed to do? Does that mean she's cured?" Naruto asked.

He looked behind him to see how she was doing, and slightly hoped she would answer "Yes," but Tsunade said, "No. I didn't get any letter from him, the pupil, so it was either lost, or Hinata . . . ran away."

Naruto and Kiba's eyes widened. "She what?" both boys shouted in unison.

Tsunade shut her eyes. All this shouting! It was giving her a migraine!

"Look, may I remind you that it is still _morning_? I haven't had a decent sleep in weeks, so if you don't keep your voices _down_ I will pummel both of you through the floor, understand?" she shouted back.

Both boys shut up.

The Hokage rubbed her temples and then continued in a normal voice, "I have no details as to why Hinata is here. We could ask her but . . ." Tsunade looked at the timid girl. "Do you remember how or why you're here?" she directed the question to her.

The young woman was surprised at first at being addressed. "Um, well, I'm not really sure. I just had a gut feeling that this is where I should be, so I walked all the way over here," the woman answered, hoping she answered correctly. She didn't want to feel _her_ wrath.

That explained why she was covered in leaves. Naruto remembered Grandma saying the place she went to was two days' walk, so she must have slept in the forest. Thinking about how lonely she must have been, all the dangers of a lone young woman traveling through the woods, and all the discomforts, for she didn't even have a bag of items like a sleeping bag or food, saddened him. He just wanted to go to her and hug and cradle her. How did she even survive that walk? She must be craving for some human contact. And food. And a shower. If so, what were they waiting for?

"Grandma Tsunade!" Naruto called. Tsunade shot him a deadly look and he suddenly remembered her warning. "Ah-! I mean, Grandma Tsunade," he said again in a lower but still hardened voice, "since Hinata is here, I want to take her around the village. We'll continue this conversation later."

"You want to what—?"

"You at least owe me that! You kept her true condition secret from me for a month, so now that she's returned you can at least let me spend the rest of the day with her today."

"It's obvious that Hinata still hasn't regained her memories, so she could still be in a fragile state! We need to bring her to the hospital. She hasn't had any food or water for two days, it looks like it, and she needs to be taken care of while I contact that man as to why she is here. Her memories could still be deteriorating."

"I'll bring her to the hospital when she needs to be. Besides, she remembered our kiss from a month ago!"

Tsunade paused.

She looked at Kiba, and he nodded in validation. So if she was able to remember that and even her two-day walk . . . how is it that she still doesn't remember her name or her past? Her memories should be restored. Could it be some defect? Or were they too late in curing her that her old memories were already erased so now new memories were forming? Was six days considered already too late? Did the flower work that fast? Remembering she was in a room full of people, she looked around.

The Hokage stopped at Naruto. If they really were too late, Naruto would be crushed. Everyone knew of their relationship since that mission, and she was no exception. Gossip eventually reached the Hokage. Hinata finally got Naruto, and Naruto finally got someone who loved him for him. However, losing her memories would also mean Hinata losing her affections for Naruto, so for Naruto, it would mean he would have to start all over again to gain her attention.

But this time, he wouldn't even have the comfort of being oblivious, and Hinata had no reason to love him if she didn't even know why she should love him in the first place. It's a mystery how anyone could fall for him anyway. Naruto and all of her friends would have to help her remember everything that she'd forgotten, as well as trying to make her fall in love with Naruto once more, which is, again, a predicament. If she allowed the two to spend the day together today, while it's still early, Hinata might be able to recall something, like a spark, but most likely not. She was 99% sure that wouldn't happen, but she always did like to bet on those 1%'s.

All of this swirled through her head as Naruto stood there under her gaze, growing uncomfortable but standing tall.

She let out a sigh. "Okay, fine, Naruto. You can take Hinata around the village—"

"REALLY?" Naruto cried, already forgetting the time. "Thanks, Grandma!" He grabbed Hinata's wrist, surprising her from the sudden contact.

"Let me finish!" she yelled before the couple could run out the door. "You _cannot_ let anyone see her. Only the people in this room can know she's here, so you can't tell Shino or Kurenai—" she looked at Kiba "—or Sakura or Kakashi—" she looked back at Naruto "—or _anyone_ else—" she looked at the guards. "I won't even tell Shizune. We do not want anyone's hopes up. Kiba may or may not accompany you if he so chooses, but whatever happens, you must _definitely NOT_ let the Hyuga clan see her, am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" everyone replied.

"Good. I'm glad we came to a conclusion."

"Okay, so we're done?" Naruto asked impatiently, itching to take Hinata outside and talk with her once more. **(2)**

Tsunade was impatient for all of them to leave as well so she could finally have some quiet time. "Remember what I said, Naruto, and please don't ask her anything about where she's been for the past month. That might make her uncomfortable."

Naruto grinned and unconsciously hugged Hinata around the shoulder with his right arm, causing her eyebrows to crease in confusion, while pointing at himself with his left. "Please, Grandma, like I would ever make Hinata uncomfortable! Now, see ya!"

"Wait, Naruto!"

The blond ninja stopped once again, this time even more annoyed. "What?"

Tsunade glared at him but then her eyes softened. "I want to say, that I'm really sorry. I'm the one who told Kiba and Shino not tell you anything about Hinata. I'm sure you went through Hell this month thinking she was dead. I just didn't want you to—" **(3)**

"Don't worry about it, Grandma Tsunade," Naruto interrupted. The sannin looked at him with wide eyes. "You just wanted to get Hinata to a doctor without me causing any problems. It's okay. I wouldn't want to delay something as important as that, anyway. I forgive you." The Hokage was speechless at how fast she was pardoned. "Now, quit stalling me!" he joked, and he ran with Hinata out the Hokage building, the rest following after, bidding their leader good-bye.

The blonde woman smiled. So he harbors no ill-will? He either grew up faster than she anticipated, or he was planning on a prank.

Hopefully not the latter.

* * *

**(1) Okay, I'm not a brain surgeon or a brain specialist, so I don't even know if that's accurate or if it even makes sense. It's a good thing this is a ninja world, so some things don't have to be scientifically accurate :)**

**(2) I am making Naruto's emotions out of whack. -_- He started depressed, and then ecstatic, then angry, then sad, and then excited. I don't even know if I transitioned betweeen those emotions well enough o_0 Sorry if it seems sudden. If it's too sudden, tell me and I'll try to transition more fluently.**

**(3) Tsunade sounds so OOC. I should have saved the apology for later, but "later" sounds so far away . . .**

**I should make a note to the timeline this is in: It's after Asuma's death but before the Pain attack on the Leaf, maybe even before Orochimaru's death . . . maybe.  
Sometimes I forget, though, so if I ever get out of the timeline, please tell me and I will correct it.  
Man, I am telling my readers to basically edit my chapters -_-  
It's okay, you don't really have to do it :P****  
Please review!**


	5. Trouble With Names

**Sorry, I got lost in the passage of time . . .****  
Hehe, I was all over the place in this chapter ^ ^'  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Dattebayo!**

* * *

As soon as everyone left her office, the tired Hokage grabbed her chair (that rolled away when she stood up) and replaced it back behind her desk. Then she sat down with a heavy sigh.

She put her head in her hands and began thinking, trying to sort out all the problems this morning had caused. Strange. Just one morning could give her a monstrous headache. That's what she gets for being the Hokage of the village that housed the most troublesome ninja.

She grunted. She then rubbed her face to get any sleepiness out of it and opened a drawer that contained paper and a brush and ink bottle. _I suppose to figure any things out I'll have to write that man a letter. _In her letter, she asked Hinata's doctor about her condition, his progress, and most importantly: why the heck was she here in the village so early!

* * *

Naruto burst through the Hokage doors, still holding Hinata's hand, a wide grin stretching across his face. He smelled the sweet Konoha air like he'd never smelled it before. Actually, during the one month of Hinata's absence, all his senses shut down. He still worked properly, but it was like nothing was real anymore. Now she was back, and his senses were back in business!

He looked behind him to check on Hinata. She was bending over, her free hand leaning on one knee, panting. This blond man was way too fast for her! And her arm was aching from all his tugging! She looked up at him and the sun shone on her dirt-streaked, sweaty face.

He thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful.

"P-Please," she said, still panting, "can you slow down a little? I'm a bit tired."

Man, it felt good to hear her voice again!

"Of course," he murmured, letting go of her hand and fully turning around to hug her. "Whatever you say!" The powerful hug surprised her, but it didn't leaver her begging for air. She guessed it would have been strong enough to break a tree trunk, but it was filled with too much care and love to do that. Why is that?

At the same time, Kiba, Akamaru, and the guard caught up with the runaways and saw the scene before them. Kiba was about to joke that it was against the law to show public affection when he thought about it . . .

They were in public . . . and Hinata's hood was down.

Rule number one of the Hokage: do not let _anyone_ see her.

Before he could remind him, however, one of the two guards at the Hokage entrance, who were watching the couple with wide eyes, pointed at Hinata. "H-Hey, I know you!" the guard said. "You're that girl who supposedly died a month ago! You were all over the news-"

Before he could finish, Kiba had clamped his mouth with his hand, and the guard from the Konoha gates shut the other. "You didn't see anything!" Kiba growled, and he threw a smoke bomb, blinding the two sentries.

* * *

Kiba thumped the back of Naruto's head. "Idiot! One minute after Lady Tsunade gives you some rules you already break the first and most important one!"

"I'm sorry! Geez . . ." Naruto muttered, rubbing the sore spot Kiba had just created.

Kiba took the two ninjas to the Third Training Ground. The guard that accompanied them returned to his post. Thankfully, they were quick enough not to be spotted by anyone, and Akamaru made sure no one was secretly following.

Kiba huffed. "I was planning on taking a break the rest of the day, but now it seems I can't do that because I have to watch you the whole day to make sure you won't break any more rules. Thanks."

"Hey, you don't have to keep watching us! I'll be more careful this time!" Naruto promised.

"Tch, yeah, right! I bet the minute I turn my back the whole village will know Hinata's returned-including the Hyuga clan."

"You're exaggerating, Kiba! I'm not that stupid! I'll just take her to our favorite hangouts-you know, Ichiraku and stuff."

"More like _your_ favorite hangouts. You don't even know Hinata's hobbies much less her favorite hangouts!"

"I said _our_ favorite hangouts, stupid! I might not know her favorite spots, but I know _ours_."

"You don't know anything about Hinata!"

"I've only been dating her for six days! You think I can learn everything there is to know about her in six days? And I don't think _you_ know anything about her any more than I do."

"I know _a lot_ more than you, idiot!"

"You had _three years_ to be with her! I only had six days!"

"You had every Academy year and the years after that."

"I was on a training mission for two years. You got to train with her every day, go on missions with her, work with her . . . You did everything together!"

"Now look who's exaggerating."

"I'm only making a point."

"And _my_ point was that you don't know anything about Hinata. You've been trying to prove that this whole time. You were right: six days isn't enough to know a person well enough."

"Was that your point this whole time? I thought we were arguing about you intruding on my day with Hinata."

"You freakin'-"

"Please stop!" the kunoichi squeezed between the two men, putting one hand on their chests before they could punch the lights out of each other. "Arguing doesn't solve anything." She looked at Kiba and then at Naruto. They were glaring at each other but Naruto broke eye contact to focus on Hinata. She looked so poor with those stains. Add her pleading eyes and she looked like a dirty, starving girl that would make even the most opposed end world hunger. It nearly broke his heart. It did almost crack when the thought occurred to him that Hinata was there watching his ugly side the whole time. Here she was: back from wherever she was held, with no memory, and the first impression she got of him was someone who a) spied on the Hokage, b) argued and yelled at her, c) randomly changed emotions from angry to happy, and d) argued with his friends. They had a moment of hugging, but even that only lasted a few seconds.

What must she think of him?

He looked away and took a step back, now out of reach from Hinata's arm. She and Kiba looked at him questioningly.

"You're right, Hinata. I'm sorry." He then looked up at Kiba. "I'm sorry to you, too, stupid. You can come if you want." Hey, he couldn't completely go soft.

The dark-haired woman, deciding that that would be the best she would get out of him, then turned to the dog boy. He looked at the expectant face of his once teammate and understood what she wanted. He looked away, frowning, crossed his arms, and grunted, "Yeah, I'm sorry, too. Idiot." Inside, he knew he should be more sympathetic to his friend (he only had six days with her anyway), but with Hinata back, he just felt like he should be his normal self.

She smiled and allowed her arms to rest by her sides. "Okay, now that we have that settled, what were you two talking about? Something about taking someone named Hinata to some hangouts?"

It had just occurred to the two obnoxious boys that Hinata, with her memories lost, might not even know who she is.

"You were talking about her a lot in that blonde woman's office . . . 'Hinata' is a _girl,_ right?"

Both boys mentally slapped themselves for forgetting her current condition.

"Um, I might not know my own name, but . . ." she suddenly got nervous and embarrassed, "am _I_ this 'Hinata' you're talking about? Whenever she's mentioned, I feel like you're talking about me. And you always call me that, too. But I really don't know who I am! If I _am_ 'Hinata' and you're trying to plan what to do next with me, I would like to make a suggestion . . . Um, are you two still listening?"

The shinobi boys were mentally berating themselves for their ignorance. However, Akamaru barked and they snapped out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we're listening! What's your suggestion?" Naruto asked. He did have one ear open to whatever Hinata said.

The woman looked them over before continuing. "If you're planning on your next moves, I . . ." She suddenly felt stupid for suggesting something like this. She barely knew these two boys yet here she was asking help from them. _But they seem to know me, or, err, 'Hinata,' very well,_ she argued with herself. Besides, even if she did decide these two were strangers, who would she go to next? Feeling she had no other choice, she sighed. "I . . . I want you to help me regain some of my memories."

All three boys stared at her. The two human boys looked at each other. Kiba then walked towards Naruto, saying "Excuse us, please" when he passed her. They turned their backs on her. She huffed. Here was another pair of male shinobis who excluded her from their discussions . . . about _her_!

"What do you think?" Kiba whispered. "Should we help her memory?"

"Well, I told Grandma Tsunade that I'll only be spending the day with her. What if she's planning to restore her memories later?" Naruto asked.

"What? That can't be right. She sent Hinata to a different guy to restore her memories because she herself didn't know. How would she know how to do it now?"

Naruto opened his mouth to argue back, but he couldn't think of anything to say. "Yeah, you're right. So what should we do?"

Kiba looked behind him to check on Hinata, and so did Naruto. She was cautiously approaching Akamaru, who was standing still except for his panting. She wanted to pet him, and the white dog was trying his best not to look scary.

They took in all her dirt and filth. A lightbulb flashed over their heads.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kiba asked.

"That Hinata still looks awesome even with all that dirt? Yeah."

A vein throbbed on Kiba's head. "No, you dolt!"

Before the dog-user could hit him again Naruto held up his hands. "Kidding, kidding! I was thinking of letting Hinata take a shower while we think of something."

Kiba nodded. "Glad we're on the same page. Pervert," he muttered the last part so Naruto wouldn't hear.

Naruto straightened and faced Hinata, a smile on his face. "Okay, Hinata-"

"Wait, so that is my name?" the shy girl half-consciously asked, her other thoughts focused on petting the dog. When she finally laid a hand on top of him, Akamaru resisted a bark of happiness, fearing he might scare her. He missed her touch. He nuzzled closer to her thigh.

Once that was accomplished, she turned to Naruto, but her hand didn't leave Akamaru's head. Way deep, deep, deep, deep down, Naruto was kind of jealous.

"Yes, your name is Hinata-Hinata Hyuga."

"I see," Hinata murmured. "Hinata Hyuga. Yes that sounds right . . . but-" she narrowed her eyes "-how do I know you're not lying to me?"

Naruto was taken aback. This was not the same Hinata he knew. Hinata would never doubt him! Then again, she lost her memories, so he guessed she lost her personality, as well. He looked to Kiba for help.

Kiba stepped up. "We say you're Hinata Hyuga. If you don't believe us, fine. You don't have to. But where else would you get a clue about your name?"

"I could always ask that blonde woman from earlier."

"Well, if you remember that conversation you would remember that you were asked a question about how you got here. Weren't we talking about Hinata just before that?"

"Yes, but maybe I'm not Hinata. Maybe she's a different person and we coincidentally are in the same condition? So you might have asked me to see if she would have done the same."

Kiba frowned. Who was this woman? Certainly not the Hinata who was his teammate.

"Argh! This is so confusing!" Naruto cried, clutching his head. "Earlier, you wanted to be the 'Hinata' we were talking about and let us help you, but now that we're helping you and we tell you that you _are_ Hinata, you suddenly don't trust us?"

The dark-haired kunoichi turned this over in her head. When she pieced it together she blushed. "O-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be doubtful. I . . . I just wanted to make sure because . . ." She took a deep breath. "Hinata is such a pretty name. If I ever find out that it's _not_ my name I . . . I would be devastated."

Naruto let go of his head and stared at the sad Hinata, who was now looking at the ground. "Hey, it's okay." He walked towards her and lifted her chin so she was looking at him again. "It must be scary. You're in a world without your memory so you don't know anything, anyone, or even yourself. You wouldn't know who to trust or who to ask for help; nor do you know what to do-what you _should_ be doing. It's like . . ." Naruto tried searching for the right words.

"Starting over from scratch," Hinata finished for him. "Except this time you wouldn't have the benefit of knowing at least yourself. You'd have to find yourself again. And, judging from my body, I look to be around 15 or 16, so that's 15 or 16 years wasted because I have to search myself all over again. It's kind of like that. Is that what you were going to say?"

Naruto smiled. "You took it right from my mouth. See, we, or at least _I,_ know where you're coming from-sort of. I know what it feels like to not know who to trust and not know what to do. We'll try our best to help you in any way we can, but if you don't want to believe us, then that's up to you. But, like I said, we're here to help."

Hinata let a small smile slip through as well. "I . . . I believe you. For now."

The look of fake hurt displayed by Naruto made Hinata laugh, and the jerk of her head made the blond let go of her chin.

He sighed. He missed that laugh just as he missed her whole being.

Hinata's laughter died down a few seconds later, and she turned back to Naruto. "Thank you. For comforting me. I'll try not to distrust you anymore."

"You better not," Kiba joked.

Hinata looked at the gruff boy. "Well, can I have my two helpers' names, please? I think I have an idea of what they are because you call each other these, but I want to make sure," Hinata asked.

The spiky-haired boys looked at each other. "If you think you know, why don't you tell us?" Kiba challenged. "If you say it correctly, I bet you have some type of hidden memory buried within you after all."

Hinata brightened. "Okay," she agreed. She put a finger to her chin, pouting just a little bit.

Naruto almost drooled.

When she finished thinking, she pointed at Naruto and then at Kiba. "You're Idiot, and you're Stupid. That's what you call each other, right?"

Two heavy cement blocks in the shape of the new names Hinata gave them crashed on their heads.

"I thought I'd never see the day Hinata would ever use those words," Kiba commented, a huge bump forming on his noggin.

"W-Well, it's kind of our faults," Naruto said, in a similar condition.

"U-Um, are you okay? Did I get your names right?" the woman worriedly asked, oblivious to what she had done.

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Um, no, that's not our names."

Hinata's shoulders slumped and Naruto immediately felt guilty for disproving her. He hurriedly tried to make up for it. "I-I mean, that was our faults that you had that assumption, anyway, and you're right to call us that since we are both dumb and can do very idiotic and stupid things like, like-"

"Like what you're doing right now," Kiba supplied.

The other male glared at him. He ignored it and said to Hinata, "My name is Kiba Inuzuka. Got that? Kee-bah. This blubbering idiot, here, is Naruto Uzumaki. Can you remember that?"

Hinata tried the names on her tongue. "Kiba," she said when she looked at the dog-user, "and Naruto." She would look at he orange-clad ninja.

They both smiled, and Hinata smiled at her accomplishment.

The brown-haired boy nodded to the big, white dog. "And that there is Akamaru." Hinata also called to him, and he barked happily.

Naruto rubbed his hands. "Okay, Hinata-because that _is_ your name-now that we got that settled, we have a plan . . ."

As he told Hinata what they would do, Kiba looked at the couple. He smiled. Akamaru, whom Hinata had stopped petting, trotted to his master. With practiced movements he scratched his dog's chin without looking. "You know, Akamaru, even though Hinata's memories are gone and she wouldn't have any feelings for that idiot any longer, those two still have some type of connection between them. That's love, huh, boy?"

The dog barked in agreement.

As he watched the two laugh with each other and act like Hinata had never lost her memories, Kiba went over his sentences.

He came upon a conclusion.

If Hinata's memories were gone, she wouldn't remember ever liking Naruto . . .

He cursed. Why didn't he see that earlier? No, that wasn't right; he _did_ have some kind of understanding that Naruto and Hinata's relationship would be nonexistent, but it was only now that he acknowledged it. More importantly, does Naruto realize his situation? If he starts flirting with her, she wouldn't have a clue to what he's doing.

"Hey, Kiba!' Naruto called. "Where should we take Hinata for a bath? Hot spring, maybe?"

No, Naruto's not that stupid. Of course he would realize she wouldn't have feelings for him anymore. He has to. Even if he himself figured it a little late, it was so freaking obvious! Then again, so was Hinata's feelings for him when they were young.

He cursed again.

"Hey, Kiba, are you listening?" When Kiba snapped out of his thoughts, he nearly fell backwards from the proximity of Naruto's face.

"What the-? Why are you so close?" Kiba angrily asked.

"You didn't answer my question from before!" Naruto replied just as angrily.

The brown-haired boy growled. "What do you want? I was thinking!"

"Where should we take Hinata for the bath?" the blond repeated.

"Knowing you, you probably suggested to take her to your place." Kiba smirked.

Naruto blushed. "That-That never occurred to me!" he retorted.

"Whatever. We should take her to the hot spring. We'll give her clothes to a laundry woman to be cleaned while we plan the rest of the day. Did you get all of that, Hinata?"

"Naruto already explained that to me," she said.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Where have you been?"

Kiba looked away angrily. "I'll talk to you about it later." He started walking in the direction of the village, Akamaru right beside him. "Right now, we need to bring Hinata to that hot spring."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and then shrugged. After the whisker-cheeked boy put Hinata's hood up, they both followed the fanged male.

* * *

**Well, folks, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and that you greeted Hinata a happy birthday yesterday!  
This year is passing, and I guess it's that time again where I wish you a Happy New Year!  
Please review! **


	6. Hot Spring

**Oh, I did it again, didn't I?  
****Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, who is writing Road to Ninja! Yaa!**

* * *

Kiba grabbed Naruto's ear and dragged him away before he could follow Hinata into the women's area of the hot spring.

"B-But don't we have to get her clothes?" the jinchuuriki defended himself.

A vein throbbed on Kiba's head. "She'll send someone to give it to us!" He led Naruto to a bench. He sat down and gestured for his blond friend to sit as well. Naruto followed. Akamaru laid down at his master's feet.

It felt good to sit. His morning started out with walking Akamaru, then he had to bring Hinata to the Hokage and stand in that room the whole time Naruto and the Hokage were talking, and after that he stood in the training ground for another while, leaving no time between those events to ever sit.

However, though he was now rested physically, his mind was racing with thoughts. _Hinata . . . Hinata's lost most of her memories including any trace of former affections. She wouldn't remember our team much less our awesome teamwork. She wouldn't remember her favorite food or hobbies. Nor will she remember her relationship with Neji before and now. Most of all, she won't remember her own starting relationship with Naruto . . ._

Kiba pushed his hand through his hair. Akamaru whined softly at his master's discomfort and Kiba automatically rubbed his head.

_For years Hinata liked Naruto. I'm sure she liked him at the start of the Academy - she might have like him before that. She was just as stubborn to get him to notice her as he was oblivious to her feelings. Really, I thought those two were hopeless!_ Kiba smiled softly. _She trained hard to gain acceptance to her clan and to _him._ Finally - _finally - _Naruto notices and they start dating, after years of a one-sided love! Now, all that hard work Hinata did comes crashing down and reduced to rubble because of one whiff from a flower. She finally got what she wanted, but she can't even remember what it _was_! She'd have to start again . . ._

Kiba unintentionally growled out loud. Naruto glanced at his friend, who seemed to be distraught.

_Start again . . . Start again . . . She'd have to start all over . . ._

"Uh, Kiba," Naruto called, waving a hand in front of the dog-boy. "Hello-o-o-o, Kiba!" He didn't seem to see Naruto's hand.

_Finally got what she wanted . . . The ironic twist? She forgets . . . Doesn't love him anymore . . . All that hard work . . . To get his attention . . ._

"Yo, Kiba, Akamaru peed on your foot!" Naruto cried. Akamaru looked at the blond confusedly. He did no such thing! "Well, that didn't work," Naruto muttered.

_His . . . Whoa, let's back up a bit. There are two sides to love. How does Naruto feel?_ Kiba inwardly scoffed. It was really obvious to everyone in the village as soon as they started dating that that blond moron fell for her.

Naruto tried a different approach. He got up and stood in front of his companion with his back facing him. Akamaru watched with curiosity.

_Well I know how _I_ feel about Hinata losing her memory, but how does Naruto feel?_

Naruto bent forward.

_He really loves her - that's clear. He was really concerned about her too, and he was in so much pain when she supposedly "died."_

This just HAD to work. If it didn't, it probably meant Kiba was dead. Well, he could still kill him, with his super sense of smell and all . . .

_It's all switched,_ Kiba suddenly realized. _Now it's _Naruto_ who's in love with _Hinata_, and she's oblivious about it__! This _is_ ironic! But this also means Naruto would try to make Hinata remember their dates. They love each other so much. A love that strong _can't _be forgotten that easily, right? Maybe, if Naruto somehow woos Hinata again, it'll give her memory a jump-start to remember things again! Awesome!_**  
**

Kiba snapped out of his thoughts to tell Naruto what he found out - only to find a full-on fart bomb explode in his face.

His eyes watered, his mouth gagged, but most of all, his nose shriveled up and died! Kiba clutched his neck and fell off the bench. Akamaru covered his eyes and snout with his paws.

Straightening up, Naruto dusted his hands. "There, I _knew_ that would work!"

Kiba glared at him, his eyes red and crying. "Naruto, I'm gonna kill you!" he shouted, or meant to shout. With his gagging and choking, it came out as a strained cry.

Naruto laughed. "C'mon, Kiba, it was only to-" The blond suddenly found himself sprawled on his back as the dog-user tackled him to the ground.

"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT FOR? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" This time it was Kiba's regular voice. He was clutching Naruto's collar.

"You weren't listening! You looked like a zombie sitting on that bench!" Naruto retorted, trying to pry off Kiba's knuckles.

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE! I'LL FREAKING KILL YOU!"

"You already said that!" the Uzumaki cried.

Before the boys could actually kill each other, they heard a soft voice next to them. They looked to the source. A young woman with brown hair stood there looking terrified but with a practiced smile, as if she was trained to grin at any customer no matter how weird.

"U-Um, are you Naruto and Kiba?" she asked. It was obvious she wanted them to say no.

"Yes, we are," the two responded in unison.

"O-Oh," the woman said. "Th-There was a woman in the hot spring who told me to give these to you." She held out a bundle with shaking arms.

Kiba stood up calmly as if he and Naruto weren't fighting just seconds ago. The bundle was Hinata's muddied purple jacket and navy pants, neatly folded. As the woman handed it to the Inuzuka, Naruto jumped up, also unfazed by their small scuttle just minutes earlier.

"Let's take these to the washer's," Naruto suggested, looking over Kiba's shoulder at the clothes. He examined it some more. "Maybe to a mender's, too," he added, eyeing the holes and rips on the sleeves.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed. The two boys started walking, and Akamaru tilted his head in confusion first before following them.

* * *

After a few steps, Naruto spoke, "Um, sorry about, you know . . ." - he twirled a finger in the air - "in your face and all . . ."

"Tch, whatever," Kiba said. "You've farted in my face so many times I probably know your scent better than the bikochu beetle."

"You're not mad?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Ignoring the question, Kiba said, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Mm-hmm. What is it?"

The dog-user cleared his throat. "You do know Hinata doesn't have feelings for you anymore, right?"

They walked for a couple minutes in silence.

"No. I didn't know." Naruto chuckled darkly. "Geez, I'm so slow," he muttered.

"Don't get so down, Naruto," Kiba said. "Want to know why I've been spacing out a couple times? I've been thinking. I've formed an idea."

"An idea? What kind of idea?"

"A plan." Kiba paused for dramatic effect. Naruto looked at him questioningly. "A way to get Hinata's memories back."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? You've really figured out a way?"

"Well, it's not for sure!" Kiba disclaimed. The whiskere-faced boy slumped and looked away.

"Oh."

"Besides, you told me yourself that Tsunade didn't want us messing with her." _This kid is moody when it comes to Hinata,_ Kiba thought as he examined his companion. Finally, he said, "I'll tell you my plan, anyway - ready?"

Naruto immediately cheered up and faced his canine-like friend.

"So, I was just thinking about how cruel fate was to get rid of Hinata's memories just when she finally got what she wanted," he started. From the corner of his eye he saw Naruto nodding his head vigorously. "To try to be a little optimistic, I thought about how she at least remembered the last time you two kissed, so she might not have lost all her memory. There's also the fact that you two love each other to death" - he saw Naruto nodding again, this time even more vehemently - "so from those information, I came to a tentative conclusion: she could be on slow recovery right now, but - who knows - maybe a nice way to jump start her memories is for you two to start dating again."

Naruto's eyes widened even further.

"Really? You think that would work? We should go tell her this right now!" Naruto was all too ready to speed back to the hot spring.

"HOLD IT, dumbo!" Kiba grabbed Naruto's collar, choking the blond. "She's in a _bath_, remember?"

_Wait a minute. She's in a _bath.

Both shinobis stood there like statues, staring at each other.

Finally, Naruto said, "Hey, Kiba, I just thought of something. Isn't a hot spring . . . public?"

. . . . ._  
_

The image of Tsunade formed in their minds, angrily reminding them, _"Only the people in this room can know she's here. You _cannot _let anyone see her!"_

. . . . .

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" they screamed at each other.

Kiba let go of Naruto's collar. "Why didn't you think of this sooner?"

"Wha-? I don't know! I just wanted to get her to a spring!"

"Gyah! We don't have time to argue, we need to go back already!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go!"

The ninjas sprinted back, pushing chakra into their feet for added speed. Akamaru looked at them confusedly before catching up with his master. **(1)**

* * *

When they were close to the hot spring, they saw a large crowd gathered around the entrance.

"Aw, crap! Do you think they found out?" Naruto asked, scared out of his mind.

Kiba didn't answer because they just arrived. They were trying to peek over the large crowd to see what was happening, but, even with their height, they couldn't see anything.

"What's going on, what's going on?" Naruto asked anxiously. People were murmuring everywhere, but neither boy could figure out what they were saying.

Finally, Kiba walked to a cloaked person in the back. "Hey, can you tell us what's happening here?"

"I'm not sure," the person started, "but I think someone who's been lost was suddenly found, or something. She came in and another person in the spring recognized her, so she suddenly grabbed her and cried. They're all cheering for those two right now."

"Oh, i-is that so?" Kiba said, sweat pouring out of him in buckets but trying to control his body language. "Th-Thank you for th-the information."

Kiba stiffly turned to Naruto and whispered, "Someone recognized her!"

Naruto, who couldn't control his body language as well as Kiba started dancing on his feet as if the ground was too hot and repeating "Crapcrapcrap" quietly, as well as sweat practically raining down his body. "Granny's gonna kill us!"

"N-Now hold on! I like my life, so we're going to force our way through this crowd and tell whoever found Hinata that she's . . . an illusion! Yeah, yeah, that'll work!" Kiba planned desperately. "It was a woman who found her, so-uh, Kurenai? Sakura? Yeah, just tell them the steam's gotten into their head, or something! They're easy to trick!" Kiba had spirals in his eyes worrying his head off at what Tsunade would do to them. A commotion like this she'd definitely notice! If not, word would inevitably get out and reach everyone in the entire village, especially . . . the Hyuga clan!

"Crap, Naruto, we gotta do this NOW!" Kiba suddenly shouted and was about to throw the first person to block him out of the way when the cloaked person he was talking to earlier spoke.

"U-Um, what happened to washing my clothes?"

The boys paused mid-forcing.

Akamaru trotted to the hooded figure and the latter patted him.

From the center of the crowd, a cry was heard: "Oh, Tonton! Don't you ever leave my sight again! I was worried sick about you! Don't run off! WAAHAAHAA!" **(2)**

The boys tried to register what all this meant.

"The . . . someone lost . . . "Kiba started blankly.

"And . . . the one who recognized . . . " Naruto added, just as blankly.

(Ninja math! 2 and 2 is . . . ?)

_We thought wrong!_ The two males simultaneously figured.

* * *

"Good thinking, Hinata, using your cloak like that!" Kiba praised.

"Well, you guys aren't the only ones who listened to the rules. I was in the same room, you know? I listened as well. From the sound of your conversation it seemed like it would be big trouble if I got discovered, so I tried to hide my face whenever someone came near," Hinata explained.

"Wow. Even with your memories gone you're still smarter than both of us, Hinata!" Naruto complimented.

After the misunderstanding, Kiba, Naruto, and Akamaru took Hinata to the nearest forest where they would be able to talk in private. Once there, the dark-haired woman informed her escorts what happened at the hot spring according to her knowledge.

Shortly after she entered the water, carefully avoiding eyes, a winded woman with black hair came in. She was asking if anyone had seen someone named Tonton. It appeared to Hinata that all these women knew who she was talking about, because she didn't explain its appearance, though Hinata didn't know. After a few minutes, it seemed the woman concluded that whomever she was looking for wasn't here, so she was about to leave. Just then, a small dressed pig entered the bath house, its nose sniffing the air. "Look, there she is! There's Tonton!" a woman cried, and the black-haired woman rushed to her.

Kiba leaned against a trunk. "Man, looks like hiding you from people isn't as easy as I thought."

"I'm sorry if I'm too much trouble. Maybe I should just go back to that tower," Hinata apologized, turning around.

"No, no, no!" Naruto stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "Hinata, I promised to spend the rest of the day with you and that's what I'm gonna do! You have to stay with me! D-Don't leave me!"

The two of them stood like that, she half-way turned, he looking at her with pleading eyes.

Kiba watched them with saddened eyes. _He's spent a month thinking she was dead. And there she is, right in front of him . . .__  
_

He got off the trunk. "Hinata, you're not too much trouble. We were just being careless, that's all. We'll protect you more from now on," he assured her.

Hinata considered the words. "Okay. But I really don't want you guys getting in trouble, so if I get too tough to handle, please just bring me back."

Naruto smiled while Kiba nodded.

"By the way," the fanged boy asked, "what are you wearing under your cloak? _We_ have your clothes." He held up the garments, which were not neatly folded anymore.

It was the first time Naruto even thought of that, and he blushed madly at what Hinata _wasn't_ wearing under her shawl.

"Oh, don't worry, I grabbed one of their bathrobes before putting on the cloak," she assured them. "But you do need to wash my clothes soon. I need to return it to them."

After hearing that she was wearing something after all, Naruto was able to control the nosebleed that was threatening to come out.

Kiba sighed. "Okay, we need a new plan. This first one didn't work out. I propose this: Akamaru and I take your clothes to the washer's and get them washed. Meanwhile, Naruto will bring you to his house and hand you some of his clothes - the _clean_ ones, Naruto - " Naruto stuck out his tongue " - Then you return the robe, and, if I'm not back by then, go to Ichiraku or something. Some place I'd be able to find you easily (not that it matters since I'll just sniff you out anyway). Any rejections?"

The two listeners shook their head.

Kiba nodded in approval. "Okay, this is where we separate. Naruto, don't do anything to Hinata while I'm away, _especially_ at your house."

"What? I'm not going to do anything to her! What do you think I am?" Naruto protested.

The dog-user rolled his eyes. "And that plan I told you about earlier? DO NOT try it until we've thought it through and talked to Lady Tsunade about it, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get out of here already!" Naruto cried impatiently.

"That's exactly the kind of attitude I'm talking about," Kiba muttered as he and Akamaru scampered off. "Can't wait to be alone with her, huh?"

The couple watched them leave. When their figures disappeared Naruto cheered. "All right, Hinata! Just you and me! C'mon, we're going to my house!"

He was about to leave when Hinata said, "Um, y-you can let go of my hand now. I'll be right behind you, I promise."

Naruto looked at his hand, which was holding hers. Somehow in their conversations the hand that used to be holding her wrist slid down to her hand. He smiled slyly at her. "Why should I?"

Hinata blushed while giving a confused look. He grinned one more time at her before the two headed to his apartment. **(3)**

* * *

**(1) Poor Akamaru! Bewildered twice! Humans are so confusing!  
**

**(2) Did you know Tonton was Tsunade's pig? All this time I thought she was Shizune's! (Or did Narutowiki lie to me?)**

**(3) And the third confusion! I didn't know I was making everybody confused! Poor Hinata and Akamaru, being with confusing people (including me XP )  
**

**You know, I don't even understand my own logic anymore!  
****This story has actually branched off way differently than what it originally was going to go.  
****Oh well. Let's see how I can make one story out of all the mess in my head!  
Please review!**


	7. In Naruto's Apartment

**Ever have this perfect scene in your head but have no idea how to put it into words?  
That's me . . . all the time :)**  
**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishomoto  
Extra note: OMG! Tobi's mask!**

* * *

Hinata looked around at her surroundings as Naruto fumbled with his door. They were at a somewhat old building with peeling paint and rusted poles. It smelled musty, and she spotted more than two cockroaches on their way up to Naruto's apartment building. She was sort of suspecting the floor underneath her feet to break through and send her crashing down. It amazed her that her escort was able to ignore all these flaws like he'd seen it a dozen times.

Well, he lived here, so he probably had.

Naruto couldn't believe that after so many years in this dwelling, he still couldn't properly open his door! 16 years and he still had to mess with the doorknob to get the key in. It was a relief when he finally unlocked the door and he could let Hinata and himself in.

"All righty, Hinata! Welcome to my apartment!" Naruto announced as the two entered. Naruto immediately noted the piles of ramen cups on his table and strewn clothes on the floor. He wasn't exactly a total slob (he did clean up once in a while when things got too smelly for his liking), but during his depressed state when Hinata supposedly "died," he'd been looking after himself less and less. "Um, excuse the mess." He laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.

Hinata didn't say anything but looked around. Strangely, she wasn't surprised at the state of his apartment, like it was natural for him to have a messy room. That sounded rude, but she couldn't think of a different way to put it.

Naruto watched the young woman examine his room. When she absent-mindedly walked farther in, dropping the hood of her cloak as she did so, he closed the door and moved to her side. He was suddenly mesmerized by her face. A month ago he remembered he dreamt of her moribund face covered in blood, decaying, bug-infested . . . He shuddered. He had tried shaking off those morbid thoughts, but they came anyway.

Her present face, in contrast, was smooth and creamy white. The bath at the hot spring cleaned away all the dirt to reveal her beautiful face. Her cheeks looked so soft he just wanted to bury his lips there.

Suddenly, his eyes were met with hers. After staring longingly at her pale cheeks, he was startled at the lavender orbs that stared back at him. They were wide and questioning.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Hinata asked.

"What? Oh, nothing. Just, um, you know . . . " Naruto stuttered an excuse.

"Um, I _don't_ know," Hinata said.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to try to find you a change of clothes. Why don't you sit on that couch and, um, make yourself comfortable?" As he said the second sentence, he walked over to the couch and removed all the clothes and ramen cups there. A TV remote that was tangled in the garments clattered to the floor but the blond ignored it.

Hinata jumped at the sudden sound. She thought her companion was nervous, but it seemed she was nervous as well, but she didn't know why. Maybe because she'd never been in Naruto's house? Well, there was that one time when it started raining after their date and the closest building to hide in happened to be his apartment, so they ran inside and . . .

Funny, where did that come from?

"Hinata?" Naruto called, snapping the girl from her reverie. "Are you going to sit?" He gestured to the couch, the bundle of clothes still in his hands.

"Oh, yes!" Hinata walked to the sofa, stepping over some more clothes and ramen cups. She sat tenderly down, resting her hands on her laps. Naruto noted that, when the cloak parted, her bare knees stuck out from the robe.

"So, I'll go find those clothes, okay? And then . . . are you hungry?" Naruto thought he should ask.

"Well, I haven't eaten for about two days," Hinata answered honestly.

The blond gaped at her. "Seriously? You must be starving!" Hinata's stomach growled in reply. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Hinata was genuinely surprised at the amount of concern displayed in Naruto's eyes. His brows were furrowed in distress rather than anger.

"Well, a lot of things that were more important than my hunger happened, so I didn't say anything—" Before Hinata could finish her explanation, Naruto had grabbed her shoulders, dropping the bundle he was carrying.

"You're health is _very_ important, Hinata. Don't say that again!" he said, staring intently in her eyes.

It seemed neither one of them could stop looking into the other's eyes.

"Y-Yes," Hinata managed to say. "I'm sorry."

Naruto relaxed at the apology and let go. "Good. I'm going to start making the ramen first, since it takes three minutes, and find your clothes while we wait," he planned. His guest nodded.

Naruto walked to his kitchen and prepared the ramen. He did it without even looking since he'd done it a million times already. After setting the timer, he headed to his room to scavenge for a clean shirt. When was the last time he did his laundry?

Before he knew it, three minutes had passed by. He always thought three minutes was too long to wait for ramen, but now it seemed too quick. He went back to the kitchen. He mixed the ramen with chopsticks and even said his pre-meal greeting when he remembered the ramen wasn't for him.

_Oh, yeah. This was for Hinata!_ He lightly scolded himself, but in the back of his mind he knew it was because he wasn't used to making ramen for other people, even if he made her some once on that rainy day. He walked back to his living room.

Hinata was still in the couch, but her head was nodding, her eyes half closed.

"Hey, Hinata?" Naruto called. The girl's head snapped up.

"Oh, Naruto, sorry! I-um-I wasn't going to sleep!" she lied.

"What are you saying sorry for? You think I'll get mad if you fall asleep?" Naruto chuckled as he sat down next to her and put the ramen on the coffee table in front of them. "You must be tired as well as hungry from your trip, so take it easy."

Naruto could clearly see that all the fatigue had caught up with Hinata. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes grew weary. She suddenly rested her head on Naruto shoulder, making the latter blush with surprise and happiness.

"Thank you for taking care of me like this," she said softly. "I owe you and Kiba. And Akamaru."

Naruto smiled gently at her sincere words. "No need for thanks. It's what friends do."

"Friends . . . " Hinata repeated. They were silent for a while; nothing stirred except for the dust in the air. Naruto was about to decide that Hinata had fallen asleep when she asked, "Did I have friends, Naruto, besides you and Kiba?"

Another second passed before Naruto remembered her memory loss. "Of course!" he answered. "Tons of friends!"

Hinata exhaled. "Well, that's good to hear," she smiled. "What about . . . a boyfriend?"

At that, Naruto blushed and stiffened. "Uh . . . that's . . . " he stuttered. He was debating whether to tell Hinata the truth or not. Did telling Hinata about having a boyfriend count as messing with her memories? Well, he already told her about her friends, and he held her hand, so maybe—

Hinata giggled at how uncomfortable he was. "Just kidding, Naruto."

"Uh . . . yeah," Naruto said, allowing his brain to calm down after hearing that.

"How about my family? And I'm not kidding this time," she assured him.

Naruto easily answered that. "You have a family, too, Hinata. A big one, in fact." Remembering the Hyugas reminded him about Grandma Tsunade's warning about not letting a single Hyuga soul see Hinata.

They wouldn't be using their Byakugan right now, would they? What if they passed his apartment, just casually strolling through the village, and one of them just happened to activate his or her Byakugan to look for something and they catch Hinata's familiar chakra in his house and immediately recognize her, making him or her barge in here and demand her back? They would make such a fuss about it that if he refused, they would go straight to the Hokage, which would get her involved and ultimately know Naruto had failed to keep Hinata's return a secret, and that would mean severe punishments for him—

"Naruto, did you hear me?" Hinata asked loudly. The blond snapped out of his thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, um, what did you say?" He smiled apologetically.

"I was asking about _your_ family. Where are they?" Hinata repeated. She was looking at him again, no longer leaning on his shoulder.

Naruto's smile slowly dropped **(1)**. Hinata felt as if she just asked a forbidden question. "M-Maybe that's too personal. I'm sorry, Naruto, you don't have to answer that," she said.

Neither shinobis said anything. They were too busy observing the other's face. Finally, it was Naruto who broke off, choosing to look at his floor instead. He mumbled very softly, "You and the others are my family, Hinata."

Hinata leaned in closer. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Naruto sat up straight and reached for the ramen cup. "I said your ramen will get cold if you don't eat it now, Hinata." He tore off the lid and mixed it again with the chopsticks. He twirled some of the noodles between the two sticks and held it out to the girl next to him. "Want me to feed you?" He grinned cheekily, cocking an eyebrow.

Hinata blushed at the action. "I-It's okay, I can feed myself," she said while taking the cup and chopsticks from Naruto. She mumbled the meal greeting and subsequently proceeded to eat. She didn't know how hungry she was until she took her first bite. It tasted heavenly! She started eating faster.

Naruto smiled at her newfound energy and was partially glad he was able to divert the subject. The little conversation between them was nice, but he had something important to do. Finding a clean shirt in this mess was no easy task.

* * *

It took the entire time Hinata was eating (even if she was eating voraciously she still had a small mouth) to find clothes that didn't smell. Naruto was cleaning up his apartment a little as he waited for Hinata to finish changing in the bathroom. When she came out, Naruto struggled to keep a straight face.

The shirt was too big for her small frame. Part of the top became a part of the sleeves as it was made for broad shoulders. The hem of the shirt reached down to the top half of her thighs, making it look like a short dress. Naruto's pants, which usually only reached to his calves, reached Hinata's feet. Luckily, he had a belt to keep it on her, but it still looked like it was ready to fall. Everything looked baggy on her. He hadn't realized how small Hinata was until she was dressed in his clothes.

"I-I don't think I can go out like this," Hinata stuttered, embarrassed. Despite Naruto's efforts, she clearly saw he was trying not to laugh. "D-Don't laugh!"

Naruto allowed a wide grin, not able to contain _everything_. "I wasn't thinking of laughing. I think you look too adorable in it."

Hinata blushed deeply and started fidgeting.

_If Hinata didn't have those pants, she'd look even more adorable_, Naruto thought, still examining her small figure. She was right, though, about not going out with his clothes. She would look really awkward. She did still have that cloak. She'd look bulky, but it would save her some embarrassment.

Or he could just return the bathrobe by himself.

Hinata shuffled to the couch and sat down. "Thank you, anyway, for lending me your clothes."

"Well, we would have given you your own, but we kind of screwed up," Naruto replied, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"A lot of things happened," Hinata said. Right then, she yawned.

Naruto noticed immediately. "Hey, Hinata, if you're sleepy, you can sleep in my bed, if you want."

Hinata shook her head. "No, we have to return the bathrobe like Kiba said. I'm the one who took it so I should give it back."

"But you're really tired, you can't deny that," Naruto argued.

"Well, yes, but I really need to return it. I'd feel horrible if I didn't."

"Don't worry, I'll return it, so you can sleep."

"But it's my responsibility. Besides, it was in the women's hot spring. You can't go in there."

"I'll just tell them you gave it to me to give back."

"No, I'm the one who needs to return it. It's like my duty."

"You've walked miles and miles from wherever you were to get here. You're _really_ tired."

"I had enough strength to let you and Kiba take me around places"

"Well, we'll be doing a lot of things later, so you should take your rest now."

"I'll do it after we return that robe."

"You'll have no time because we'll start right away."

"Well, then we'll do whatever it is you want to do and I'll sleep at night."

"Up for the whole day? I can't let you do that to yourself."

"I've got no choice. I'm going to return that robe personally."

"Didn't you say you couldn't go out in those clothes?"

"I'd rather be humiliated by wearing clothes twice my size than be humiliated for being a thief."

The quarrel stopped there. Naruto saw the stubborn pout on Hinata and was almost sure he lost the argument.

But he had one more trick up his sleeve.

In one motion, he bent down and scooped her off the couch, carrying her bridal style. "Hinata Hyuga, you are going to rest and sleep whether you like it or not!"

"N-Naruto, p-p-put me down!" Hinata squeaked, blushing like crazy. She attempted to get off by pushing his chest, but it was futile.

Naruto carried a squirming Hinata to his bedroom. He lightly kicked open his door and walked over to his bed. He dumped her on it. Immediately she sat up. "Naruto, I don't need to—"

Her protest was cut off when a hard, warm chest smothered her. She moved her face so she was able to breathe, but her eyes were wide and her cheeks were still red.

Naruto was hugging her and rubbing her back. "There, there, Hinata," he soothed. "Why don't you sleep and let Naruto take care of everything?" They stayed in that position, Naruto sitting on the edge of the bed and comforting her, Hinata breathing slowly and making no effort to push Naruto away this time.

She listened to the steady beating of his heart, sometimes counting, sometimes not. She was listening so intently she thought she could hear the blood rushing off to different parts of his body with each pump. She didn't even realize that she was slowly being lowered until she felt the pillow on her head.

Nor did she notice that Naruto had climbed into bed with her.

"Go to sleep, Hinata," Naruto whispered in her ear.

"But . . . the bathrobe," she mumbled back.

"What bathrobe?" Naruto asked.

"The . . . the robe . . . that . . . " Hinata struggled against her heavy eyelids.

"There's no robe. There's only sleep."

Minutes passed. Naruto was notoriously known for being impatient, but lying down like this, with Hinata snuggled to his chest and his arms around her, he didn't mind if it took a million years for her to fall asleep. The sun shone through his window, lighting on both of them. It also provided a bit of warmth. It was so tranquil, so quiet.

After thirty minutes, Hinata was breathing calmly, a sign that she was in slumber.

Naruto didn't move for another ten minutes. He loved the warmth Hinata provided every time they hugged. And hugging Hinata in bed was a million times better than hugging his pillow, which he sometimes imagined as his girlfriend. He also liked the warmth when they were holding hands, or linking arms, or snuggling, or sparring, or talking, or eating, or playing, or teasing, or kissing.

The greatest warmth of all, though, was when she was just with him. All the dark, lonely days would disappear as soon as she showed up.

It was amazing how many things they did together in six days. Well, they did see each other every day on account of Naruto.

Finally, Naruto slowly removed himself from Hinata. As carefully as he could, he got off the bed. He took one more look at Hinata and immediately was mesmerized again by her serene face. She looked so peaceful and innocent.

Why did something as memory loss have to happen to her? Walking in the forest alone, not knowing a single face that showed up, not knowing her past, or her loved ones. Really, she would only see strangers wherever she looked. It would be like him suddenly being dropped into an unknown village where everybody claimed he knew them. They'd greet him, and be friendly, but deep down he wouldn't know if they were genuine or not. And if a girl just walked up to him and declared that she was his girlfriend . . .

He'd be so overwhelmed, he would almost be afraid.

He made a decision then. He wouldn't tell Hinata about their relationship. He'd keep it a secret until the time came. Or he could let her settle first, build up trust, and then slowly try to deepen their relationship again.

He wouldn't make her uncomfortable.

He sighed when he finished thinking.

"I gotta return that robe," he muttered to himself. He glanced at Hinata one more time. "I'll get your memories back, Hinata, no matter what it takes."

He was tempted to kiss her cheek, but he just decided he wouldn't show his affection. Kissing her would be hypocritical.

* * *

Naruto walked out of his room and grabbed the bathrobe from the bathroom. When he opened his door, however, Kiba and Akamaru were standing there, Kiba ready to knock. "Naruto!" he exclaimed, to which the blond shushed him, telling him Hinata was asleep. "She's asleep? Well, did you bring back that robe? I got Hinata's clothes cleaned." Kiba held up the clothes while Naruto held up the robe with a sheepish smile.

"You didn't return the robe yet?" he nearly yelled.

"Shhh! I was going to!" Naruto said. He got out of his apartment and closed the door behind him so they wouldn't accidentally wake Hinata up.

"Why didn't you do it earlier?" Kiba asked. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You didn't . . . do anything to her, did you?"

"What? No!" Naruto denied. "I found her clothes and fed her ramen. We were ready to return the robe but she was really tired so we had a tiny argument and finally, I convinced her to go sleep and let me bring back the robe."

Kiba nodded as he listened. Both boys started walking to the stairs of the building. "I see how that could take you a while, but, seriously? It's been a little over an hour already," Kiba said.

"Really? I didn't know it's been that long. It must have been when I was trying to put her to sleep."

Kiba nodded again and then abruptly stopped. "You . . . what? You put her to sleep?" Naruto nodded this time. "_How_ did you do this?"

"Well, it wasn't easy. She was stubbornly refusing to sleep. So I had to pick her up and force her on the bed," Naruto explained.

Kiba went rigid at "force her on the bed," which went unnoticed by Naruto as he continued. "After that, I just rubbed her back and whispered some stuff in her ear and she slowly fell asleep."

Naruto was already on the last step of the stairs when he noticed his companion was missing. "Eh? Kiba? Where'd you go?" He looked behind him and saw his friend, still on the stairs, clenching his fists and shivering all over. Akamaru whined beside him.

"Kiba?" Naruto called again.

"You . . . " Kiba started. "YOU RUBBED HER BACK AND WHISPERED IN HER EAR?!" he yelled. His face was so red that the painted fangs on his cheek were no longer visible. The blond flinched in surprise. "NARUTO, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Kiba suddenly sprang at the blond with sharpened teeth and claws. Naruto yelped in fear and turned around, racing out of the building with Kiba close on his tail.

"What are you talking about, Kiba?! Was there something wrong with that sentence?!" Naruto screamed while trying to avoid the beast behind him. "And . . . YOU ALREADY SAID THAT! COME UP WITH A NEW THREAT!"

Meanwhile, Akamaru watched his master chase the blond boy from rooftop to rooftop. He whined at Kiba's impulsiveness and then went after them.

* * *

**(1) ****This was before the Pain Invasion and all that, if you remember, so he hadn't met either of his parents yet.**

******The joke at the end was supposed to be for the next chapter.  
But I felt it should be here and now.  
Who knows when it will be until my next update!  
And by then, it might not be as funny (not that it's that funny to begin with XD ).  
Please review!**


	8. Evening

**Happy 4th of July (in the US)!  
Okay, I already had this chapter written out, but I felt like the events in it would be too early in the story.  
****Like, it would be too soon for those types of problems to occur.  
So, I rewrote it and it took me twice as long for the next update.  
And the time between my updates are pretty long ^ ^;  
****Here's to hoping I finish this story before 2020!  
Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Naruto, so don't look at me.  
**

* * *

After the chase, it was decided Kiba would bring the robe back while Naruto carried Hinata's clothes home. Kiba protested and said he wanted to bring back the attire, but Naruto had the keys, after all.

Naruto laid the garments on the couch. Before he could get bored waiting for Kiba, he hyped himself up to pick up his own laundry and clean his house a bit. He should at least make his home presentable to a girl.

And he would only be cleaning up his house for the girl he liked.

* * *

Being Naruto, he used several clones to help him clean. In no time, his apartment was spotless (save for his bedroom which he left undisturbed), a state it hadn't been in since he had left it for 3 years. To celebrate the early Spring cleaning, he grabbed a carton from the fridge and chugged it down.

A knock signaled him to stop. After quickly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and putting the milk back, he opened the door. Kiba and Akamaru walked in with a nod of greeting.

"I returned the - whoa! What happened here? Did Hinata wake up and clean your place?" Kiba questioned, wide-eyed that he could actually see Naruto's furniture.

"No," Naruto cried. "I did it myself."

Kiba looked at him unconvinced.

"I did!" the blond repeated. "In fact, Hinata's still asleep right now."

Kiba grinned, reassuring his friend that he was only teasing. "Anyway, how are you and Hinata supposed to be 'hanging out' if she's out cold? What if she sleeps the whole day?"

Naruto looked towards his room where his girlfriend was sleeping. "Doesn't matter. She can have all the rest she wants," he replied quietly.

Kiba never knew the Uzumaki could produce such a soft gaze.

They stood there, one observing something, the blond observing someone through the wall. It was so quiet, and so peaceful (except for the gentle panting of Akamaru), that dog-user hated disturbing it.

"So what do we do now?"

Naruto seemed to have forgotten all about his companion. He tore his eyes away from the wall. "I don't know. You can go home, I guess."

"Ohh, no. I am not leaving you and Hinata alone for the third time. Akamaru and I are staying." Kiba walked over to the nearest couch and plopped himself down, his dog laying down by his feet.

Naruto shrugged. "Suit yourself. You want some milk?"

"I'm not a cat. Water's fine." The host got him his water. "Thanks."

"It's going to be a while before Hinata wakes up," Naruto remarked while sitting down across from the Inuzuka. "What should we do to pass the time?"

"We should do some serious discussing."

* * *

The boys' discussion was interrupted by someone gently shaking Naruto's shoulder. The latter's eyes snapped open. He looked in Kiba's direction and found him curled on his couch.

Whoops.

Their "serious discussion" had turned into some serious napping.

Finally Naruto turned to the source of his awakening.

"Good evening," a pair of lips softly greeted.

"Evening?" Naruto said groggily. He was ready to go back to sleep when his head shot up. "Evening?!"

Luckily, Hinata had already straightened up before the set of blond hair could knock her in the nose in his scramble to sit up. Naruto looked out the window and saw stars twinkling in the dark sky. "Oh man, it's already night!" Thoughts surged through the Uzumaki's head of what he was going to do with Hinata for the day. There was Ichiraku Ramen, the Hot Spring, the many Konoha shops around the village, tour of the Hokage tower (a.k.a. his future home), secret places, and finally, for the finisher, a romantic evening atop one of the Hokage heads. Well, not romantic anymore since he decided he wouldn't try to be romantic with her anymore. So many things have gone unplanned, and those that were planned rarely went through.

Naruto breathed a heavy sigh.

"Um, are you alright?" Hinata's timid voice asked. She sounded so like her old self he'd almost believed she never had memory loss.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, turning to face her. "It's just that, my time with you is already nearly over. We just slept the whole day."

Hinata didn't disagree. "I'm sorry. That's my fault. If I hadn't slept, then we would have been able to do the things you wanted to do." It was her turn to sigh.

Naruto's head whipped back to Hinata, eyes stretched wide. "Whoa, what? What are you talking about? This isn't your fault at all!" He got up and gently but firmly grasped Hinata's arms. "You were tired, so you needed that sleep. And besides, it doesn't matter what I want to do. If you wanted to spend all our time sleeping and resting, then I wouldn't have complained."

Hinata stared at his face in surprise. Meanwhile, the blonde's gaze shifted to one of her arms. He noticed the pale, soft cloth. "Oh! You're wearing your jacket!"

The Hyuga looked down at her attire. After she woke up, she saw her jacket and pants sitting on the couch and changed on her own. "Yes. Thank you, by the way, to both you and Kiba, for mending my clothes. You guys have done so much for me. My clothes, food, a place to stay…" Hinata blinked back tears as best she could.

Naruto chuckled with one of his signature grins. "Anything for you, Hinata."

Hinata smiled gratefully. "I really would like to repay you both. Maybe we could go to one of the places you wanted to visit. I'm fully rested, now."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion. At that moment, the Inuzuka and his dog had started to stir. The pair looked in their direction. One long stretch and a mighty yawn later, Kiba stared back at the two of them. "What are you guys looking at?"

"Nothing," Naruto replied. "By the way, it's nighttime."

"It's night?!" Kiba cried. As the other two had done, he looked out the apartment window for confirmation. "Shoot! It's supposed to be my turn making dinner tonight! What time is it?"

Naruto and Hinata called out the time in unison. Kiba cursed. "Come on, Akamaru. Maybe if we leave now, we'd be home before Mom and Hana." Akamaru whined, apparently knowing how scary his master's female family members' wrath was.

They scrambled for the door.

The slam echoed throughout the apartment.

"Alone again," Naruto noted quietly. **(1)** The young woman next to him nodded.

The silence was almost unbearable to the blond. "Hey, you said you'd go with me to somewhere, right? As payment for our services?" Naruto asked, suddenly facing Hinata.

"Y-Yes, anywhere," the raven-haired woman replied.

Naruto smiled warmly. "Then come with me."

* * *

The wind was always stronger up here than in the village. Maybe it was the altitude, or maybe it was the population (or lack thereof). Whatever the reason, this place differed from the rest. Its location had a calming effect, especially at night.

Nothing could beat the breathtaking view of the Leaf Village from atop the First Hokage's head. Naruto smirked as Hinata stood next to him with a gaping mouth at the beautiful sight before her: the stark contrast between the lively, luminous village below and the calm, twinkling night sky above. It almost made her cry.

"It's...amazing up here, Naruto," she whispered.

"Yeah." Of course he already knew that. That was the reason he brought her here.

The wind blew some more, ruffling the teenagers' hair and clothes. Hinata closed her eyes to breathe in the fresh air just as Naruto looked over to her.

The moonlight illuminated her fair skin and glinted off her delicate eyelashes. He could easily lean over right now and kiss her cheek. He fought the feeling down. He had to think of Hinata's feelings, not just his own.

He looked down at the village to distract himself, but that only led him to continue on thinking about her. Hinata (he realized during the month he thought she was dead) had the power to make him...happy. Happier than he'd ever been. He always felt calm around her, or as calm as Naruto Uzumaki could be. One smile from her and any form of thinking shut down in his brain. It was this crazy good feeling he got from her that always made him visit her every morning, impatient to start the day with her.

He remembered once (still in that month of depression and mulling) when Hinata told him her name meant "sunny place" and how ironic it was for her to be named that. He had disagreed, but when his girlfriend had asked why, he couldn't think of the answer then.

He'd figured it out near the end of the month.

Hinata was his Hinata.

She was his "sunny place." **(2)****  
**

Naruto sighed. He wanted to tell her this, but their situation wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't understand right now; he wouldn't know how to explain it.

But he _will_ tell her. When she was cured and had all her memory back.

* * *

**(1) Yes, and Kiba just said he wasn't going to leave them alone. Silly Kiba!**

**(2) This story was initially going to be titled "My Sunny Place," but after deciding to make it a sequel, I figured the title should be a similar format to the title of the first story, "Gone." Also, I do realize that, according to Naruto Wiki, Hinata's name means "a place in the sun," but I got this idea when it used to say that her name meant "sunny place," so I'm sticking with it.  
**

**Haaaah, I'm seriously losing motivation by the minute.  
I'm itching to write a new story but I should finish this before adding more to my plate.  
Anyone who is still reading this story, I bow to you in gratitude and apology.  
Please review!**


End file.
